


The Trails of Avarice

by Dock872210



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/F, Harems, Lesbian Character, Politics, The Great War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-14 03:54:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 141,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18044966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dock872210/pseuds/Dock872210
Summary: Power isn't everything. That is something Devora Mammon knows well. Follow her as this reluctant Satan of Avarice struggles to gain the greatest treasure of all... happiness. [X-posted on FFN]





	1. Memories of the Great War

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply  
**

**0 line break 0**

**Chapter 1: Memories of the Great War**

Dawn broke over a wondrous land of crystal, populated by plants made from living precious metals and giant mushrooms in a kaleidoscope of colors.

One might have been forgiven for believing such a fantastical land was to be found in some heavenly realm or other, but in this case that couldn't have been further from the truth. This was the Land of Greed, located in the Underworld and the ancestral lands of the Mammon Clan of Devils.

Located at the heart of the breathtaking Land of Greed was another incredible marvel, [Spiral Urbis Opes]. [The Spiral City of Wealth] as the city was known in English was built out and around a single massive hill sized diamond. It was built on seven levels, each carved out of and into the hill, and about each was set behind a wall, each of which had a single massive and well defended gate. These gates were not set in a line: the Great Gate in the City wall was at the east point of the circuit, but the next faced half south, and the third half north, and with each subsequent gate out off line with the previous; so the paved way that climbed toward the citadel turned this way and that across the face of the hill. It was a real-life Minas Tirith but orders of magnitude larger and created by the Devils of the Mammon Clan centuries before Tolkien had even been conceived.

At the apex of the city was a single massive pyramid, easily as large as the Great Pyramid of Giza, and unlike that great monument still in possession of its facade of gleaming marble, but black instead of the Egyptian counterpart's white. It retained its capstone as well, a single massive black diamond. This opulent palace, for unlike the Egyptian pyramids this was no tomb, was the home to the rulers of this land of wealth, the Mammon Clan.

Seated at a wrought iron patio table on a balcony in the apartments at the very top of the pyramidal palace was the last of the once numerous Mammon Clan, Devora Mammon, and as she had her morning tea she let her eyes roam over her lands.

She was a rosy-cheeked woman with the proportions of an average young woman in their mid teens, with waist long black hair that contrasted well with her fair skin and her startling orange eyes. Dressed in a simple but elegant black dress, she looked every bit the refined ruler.

Bored of looking over a vista that she had spent centuries surveying she turned to the two empty places at her table.

"Looks like Leloucia and Atlan aren't joining me for breakfast today." Devora sighed at this. "Again."

"I know their duties are important, but I really wish they would spend some time with their old friend. It gets lonely to always eat breakfast alone." the Devil noble admitted.

_If only we were children again…._

**0 line break 0  
**

**Flashback begin**

Three young girls sat around a familiar wrought iron patio table overlooking the amazing expanse of the Land of Greed. Not that the girls paid the view any notice. The trio were too busy squabbling playfully to pay it any attention.

"Don't call me that!" A twelve year old Devora Mammon, shouted to her two best friends.

"What's the matter? Don't like your new nickname, Devi~?" Leloucia Amon, one of the aforementioned best friends teased back.

The sandy haired and violet eyed Leloucia Amon was the heiress of the Mammon Clan's allies, the Amon Clan, and due to that close association between their clans and being the same age as Devora the two of them had spent a great deal of them together growing up and had thus readily become the best of friends.

"Devi the Devil? Isn't that a little silly?" Atlan Furfur commented in Devora's defense.

"You're one to talk." Leloucia shot back without thinking.

Atlan winced at that, even as Devora sent Leloucia a chiding glare. "Lulu!"

"Opps. Sorry Attie. It was just a slip of the tongue." Leloucia apologized.

"It's ok." Atlan replied even though her hunched frame made it clear that it wasn't.

Sad as it was, Atlan Furfur, was used to it. She might not like it, but it was something she had come to live with. Being a devil of the Furfur Clan had many advantages, it being one of the 72 Pillars and all, but it was also very much a curse, as every one born to the clan was a hermaphrodite. A fact that unnerved many around them, even best friends she'd known since she could walk like Leloucia.

There was one exception to this though, as Devora proved when she slipped a hand under the table to squeeze one of the Furfur heiress' hand comfortingly. She might have first met Devora as part of her father's plans to forge an alliance between their two Clans by capitalizing on the fact that his heiress was the same age as the youngest of the Mammon children, but Atlan felt that between the two of them they had forged something much more valuable: true friendship.

"So as I was saying," Atlan began, changing the topic away from Leloucia's slip-up and the upset it had caused, "Devi might not be the best idea, Lulu."

"I agree."

"Ok. So maybe not Devi. But Devora really _does_ need a nickname." Leloucia insisted.

"That's true." Atlan agreed. "I mean you guys call me Attie and Leloucia goes by Lulu. It's time you got a nickname too, Devora."

"Fine." Devora conceded as she crossed her arms and pouted. "I don't see the need, but I can see where the two of you are coming from. Just not Devi, ok?"

"Sure." "Yup." Her two friends readily agreed.

"So what would like instead-" Leloucia began only to be interrupted by a new arrival.

"Sorry to interrupt you girls, but someone is here to see Devora." Luzen Mammon, head of the Mammon Clan and Devora's father declared as he stepped out onto the balcony.

Luzen Mammon was a particularly tall and lean Devil with long limbs and a long face. His orange eyes, a hereditary Mammon trait, were piercing and narrow and his short black hair was neatly slicked back with the exception of four forelock bangs. Normally cool and imposing, he was known to easily strike terror into lesser beings from his presence alone. Today however, he looked visibly rattled.

"Father." "Lord Mammon." The girls greeted.

Lord Mammon waved the greetings away and turned to look at his daughter. "Devora, love, you must come with me."

"Now, Father? Lulu and Attie just got here. We were going to have a tea party." Devora whined, her two friends nodding at her words.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, but this cannot wait. Satan Lucifer is here to see you."

"Lord Lucifer!?" All three young devils exclaimed in surprise.

Which was to be expected. Not only was Satan Lucifer, the supreme authority of Devilkind, requesting to see someone, instead of ordering them to present themselves, he was actually visiting their home to see them. As extraordinary as that was, it might have been understandable if he had gone to see a Clan Head like Lord Mammon or an heir like Devora's eldest brother, but to see Devora? The youngest of Lord Mammon's eight children and so the least likely to inherit the Headship? That was just unbelievable.

"Yes, now come along."

Devora wanted to ask her Father what was going on and whether the Satan had asked for her specifically or the whole family, but from the harried look on his normally stoic face, she knew better.

She could just ask later.

"Bye Lulu, Attie. See you two later."

"See you later, Devora." "Bye Devi~!"

Devora sent Leloucia a glare for that.

**End Flashback**

**0 line break 0**

"Devi~!" A voice sing-songed as its owner, a beautiful woman with mid-length red hair and wearing a bright yellow dress, embraced the last Mammon from behind.

"Attie! Let go of Devi this instance." An irate Leloucia Amon, her hair now knee length though looking longer due to her confinement to a wheelchair, admonished her best friend.

"Au~! Lulu, don't be so uptight."

"I'll relax once you start acting your age. We're not twelve anymore."

"Oh, I know." Atlan winked mischievously, as she stood up and stretched, showing off her curvaceous figure.

"Urgh! That's not what I meant." Leloucia hissed, as she self-consciously crossed her arms over her noticeably smaller bust.

"You're just jealous."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The two centuries old Devils might have continued their childish little squabble indefinitely if not for Devora giggling at their antics, the sound of which stopped them cold.

Smiles spread across both their faces at the laughter. It was rare for their friend to laugh happily like that.

"So you two _finally_ decided to join me for breakfast?" Devi asked as she finally smothered her giggles.

"We always intended to, just that _someone_ had _something_ come up at the last minute that needed us both to settle." Lulu explained as she sent an accusing glare at Atlan, while her enchanted wheelchair pushed itself to the patio table.

Furfur just shrugged as she slipped into her own seat, "It _was_ important."

"Do I need to know?" Mammon asked as she gestured to a servant waiting patiently in the shadows to begin serving their meal.

"It's not _that_ urgent." Lulu declared, while shooting a warning look at Atlan. "It can wait till you hold court later."

"You sure-"

"We're sure," Atlan cut in without letting Devi finish her question. "For now let's just enjoy breakfast."

Devi hesitantly nodded. She was worried about what issue had required the attention of _both_ Atlan and Leloucia, two of her most able lieutenants, to handle, but she trusted them and if they said it didn't need her immediate concern then it probably didn't.

She could worry about it later.

Right now, she was spending time with two of her oldest and best friends, and that was all that mattered.

As the trio finished their breakfast, the topic of conversation shifted back to what had held Atlan and Leloucia up earlier that morning.

"It's nothing to worry about in my opinion." Leloucia said as she waved a hand dismissively. "At least not yet."

"Maybe. But it also isn't something we should just forget about." Atlan countered.

"Of course not, but still not something to worry about _now_."

Devi couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the byplay. Her two friends never could stop sniping at each other.

But as bemused as she was, she was still their ruler and she needed to know what they were talking about. So she cleared her throat and said, "What are you two talking about?"

Both Atlan and Leloucia flushed at that, apparently having completely forgotten that they hadn't yet told their lady _what_ they were arguing about.

"It's the Infinite Dragon God, Ophis." Furfur said as she turned to face her liege, utterly serious. "She appears to be mustering an army."

Devi gasped. Why would the Infinite Dragon God,one of the two most powerful beings in the world need an army?

"An army? For what?" Devi asked, giving voice to her inner shock and confusion.

"We don't know." Leloucia admitted. "None of Attie's sources have any clues and without something to go on, we can't make any guesses either."

"But whatever her goals for doing so, ultimately an army can only mean one thing…" Furfur began only to be interrupted by Devi.

"War."

_Not again!_

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback begins**

It was the depths of night on an empty barren plain in the Underworld, one populated by nothing but corpses and one lone exhausted Devil.

This was the Megiddo Plain, a plain that sat on the border between the lands controlled by the Devils and those claimed by the Fallen Angels. As such it was a site which had seen more than its fair share of the war between the two races and the Angels of heaven, who had more than once ambushed armies of both races as they fought here, that was already called the Great War.

This day one such battle had just concluded with a decisive Devil victory as they unleashed their latest weapon upon their foes, Devora Mammon, to devastating effect. Despite only being thirteen, the young Devil possessed immense power, being one of only a handful of Super Devils who had the powers to possibly match even gods.

It was for this reason that Satan Lucifer, a Super Devil himself, had visited her home all those months ago to forcibly recruit her into the ranks of Devilkind's armies despite she being grossly underage. Her father had tried to stop him of course, arguing that she was too young, but his arguments had been shot down by the Lucifer reminding him that he had already defied the Satans once by refusing to report Devora's status to them despite standing orders to inform them of all Super Devils.

Discovering these once in million superpowered devils was why the Satans had introduced standardized power testing for devil children in the first place, but her father had apparently discovered she was a Super Devil during her tests and tried to hide it. Despite this, the Satans had found out anyway and were using the fact that Luzen had tried to deceive them, a crime punishable by death, to hold the whole family at their mercy and as an excuse to use in the event of any future resistance to justify eliminating them.

That was not something she could allow. Not if she could help it and she could.

Which was way she had willingly left with the Satan. Leaving behind everything she had ever known to serve on the frontlines as the Satans' weapon in their war.

As she caught her breath after the exhausting battle, she looked over the blasted remains of the Megiddo Plains, at the shattered corpses of friend and foe alike, at the carnage that _she_ had wrought. She fought down her bile. She could not show weakness here, not now, not in front of _him_.

"Bravo. A job very well done, little Mammon." A Devil that looked to be in his 40s with silver hair that fell to his shoulders and a beard complimented as he teleported in and surveyed the battlefield. He was Rizevim Lucifer, son of the Satan and another Super Devil. "Observing this from afar doesn't do it justice, you really did leave none of them alive did you?"

"No." Devora replied emotionlessly. "Just like you ordered, I destroyed them utterly."

"Oh. What an impressive little soldier you are." Rizevim said with a smile. "You make me feel so proud for being your handler."

Devora didn't bother to respond, instead continuing to stare out at the devastated landscape around her.

"Meh. I'll get you to lighten up soon enough." Rizevim said with a shrug. "In the meantime, Father has recalled us to Lucifaad. Apparently he has something special planned for us."

"Understood." Devora replied, her voice as dead as it had been since the start of this conversation.

Rizevim sighed as he called up a magic circle to teleport the two of them back to the Devils' capital.

"I guess I really have my work cut out for me if I want to get you to stop being a robot." The son of Lucifer commented idly as the duo were teleported away.

**Flashback ends**

**0 line break 0**

The throne room of the Mammons was like so much of the architecture of their buildings an incredibly opulent place, and befitting its importance doubly so. It was a vast chamber the size of a soccer field at the heart of the pyramidal palace. The room was lined by massive Greek columns made out of solid adamantite, its walls, floor, and the ceiling of the arched roof was of pristine soulstone the glow of which provided the room's illumination. At its head, on a raised dias carved out of dragon bone, was the throne of the Mammon Clan. If the Land of Greed as a whole reflected the avarice and fortune of the Mammons in terms of mundane materials, the throne room represented their wealth by flaunting how they could spend some of the most costly mystical materials for little more than interior decoration.

Unlike everything else in the room and the Land of Greed in general however, the throne of the Mammons did not speak of the unsurpassed greed and wealth of the clan which owned it. It was a simple wooden thing made from a black poplar from the Realm of the Dead. While the rarity of the wood arguably made it as valuable as everything else that made the Land of Greed worthy of its name, unlike everything else the throne's unstated, simple design meant it was hardly as ostentatious at making this point as everything else. In that way, it was a embodiment of its owner.

Like her throne, Devora Mammon was every bit the greedy Mammon, she was just not as obvious about it as most would expect.

Which was why she set her face into a mask of indifference even as she inwardly reveled in the pomp and grandeur as her entry into her throne room to hold court was announced.

"All rise to pay respects to the ruler of the Land of Greed, the Satan Mammon!"

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback start**

Apparently her recall to Lucifaad had been for some kind of promotion for her, to a rank that in the words of the Satan Lucifer "reflected her abilities." What that rank was, Devora didn't know and honestly didn't care. She was not fighting this war for ranks.

So it was that on the day of her promotion, a disinterested Devora walked down the red carpet of the Grand Palace of the Satans to kneel before Lucifer. She ignored the proceedings for the most part, keeping her eyes firmly focused on the floor in front of her as the Six Satans spoke in turn to the gathered audience of the Devil aristocracy.

The only thing that _had_ caught her eye was her family seated in a box on the level normally reserved for the families of the Satans. Briefly Devora pondered about that, but other things quickly took priority over her family's odd seating arrangements. Namely the presence around them of a large number, disproportionately so, of what others might mistake for bodyguards but which Devora knew to be jailers. She recognized those Devils after all as members of the Satans' elite guards, that they were now serving as guards for her family meant that the Satans were keeping a very close eye on them. All to keep Devora herself under their control.

Devora was torn from her musing of her fate when Lucifer said something that she _couldn't_ tune out.

"And now it is my honor to present to you, my people, your Seventh and newest Satan. Raise Satan Mammon!"

_What?_

Devora took a moment, and only a moment, to process this development, she couldn't afford more. Not in front of the Satans and the entire gathered nobility. Gathering herself, she rose on wooden legs, the shock overcoming her enough that she rose unsteadily despite the week of practice at the ceremony that had been forced on her, to raucous applause from the audience. Even her family were happily cheering for her.

_The seating, the guards, it all makes sense now… Oh no! The guards! If I'm a Satan then it makes sense to have guards gifted to my retinue by the other Satans to serve as protectors for my family. Permanently. Which means there's no escape… At least before, we could have fled before the Satans hunted us down for our 'crimes', but now? With Devils loyal to them at our backs at all times? There's no chance. Damn them! And they did it without even making it look like anything malicious. Everyone else won't realize their true purpose, they'll just see it as the Satans being generous._

As the reality of the situation, of how her actions might have in fact put her family in even more immediate danger, dawned on her, she wanted to break down into tears. But she smothered it. She would not give the monsters the satisfaction.

**0 line break 0**

A week after her elevation to the rank of Satan, Devora found herself at a mustering ground in the outskirts of Lucifaad preparing to meet her army for the first time. She hadn't wanted an army of course, having never led Devils into battle before, she didn't feel qualified at all. When she had voiced this opinion to the other Satans, pointing out also that assigning her troops was thus a waste and would likely lead to their slaughter, Lucifer had looked at her strangely, almost approvingly, before declaring simply that "a Satan needed an army." That was the end of all discussion on the matter.

Her troops - and wasn't that going to be a strange thing to get used to? Having a whole army of troops at her command. - were preparing for inspection on the parade square of the mustering ground, but before she went out to meet them, she would first need to meet her officers.

"Oh relax!" Rizevim, her ever present shadow, chided. "You're a Satan. It's these lesser devils that should be the ones terrified of this meeting. Not you."

"As you say." Devora replied neutrally as she always did to her handler.

"Hmm. I think I hear them coming." He stood up from his casual slouch against the wall behind her then and summoned a magical circle.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving."

"What?" Devora said in surprise, the first emotion she'd shown to Rizevim since they'd met.

Smiling mockingly at Devora, the son of Lucifer explained, "You're a Satan now, can't be seen to have me hand holding you, now can I?"

"Not worried I'll use my new status against you and your masters?"

Rizevim's smile turned sinister, "Nope. Not when we have your daddy dearest and the rest of your family right where we want them."

Devora glared at the older Super Devil, which earned nothing more than an amused laugh as he teleported away.

Just in time too, as the door to the room, the office of the mustering post's commander, was opened by its owner. He let in her senior officers and their aides and with a bow closed the door. This meeting was strictly for her and her men.

Turning her attention to her men she surveyed them and had quite the shock. Leloucia and Atlan were there.

_Wha-What are they doing here?_ Devora thought to herself frantically, even as she fought and mostly succeeded to keep her composure, her time with Rizevim paying off. Though if the simultaneously worried and reassuring looks her best friends were shooting her were any indication, they at least had seen through her mask.

"My Satan." The oldest looking of her new officers greeted as he fell to his knees in an act of respect to her new rank. The others quickly falling his example.

Thankful for the distraction from her shock, Devora gestured for her men to raise.

"Greetings." The young Satan begun. "I will not bore you by introducing myself, as you all already clearly know who I am. Unfortunately, for the most part save for Atlan Furfur and Leloucia Amon, I cannot say the same about yourselves. As such, even though we are short on time, before we begin I ask that the rest of you introduce yourselves."

"Short on time? What do you mean, My Lady?" A Devil who looked liked a man in his thirties with long blond hair and blue eyes voiced her men's confusion.

"Yes, unfortunately, we've received word that the Angels have made a major push against us and we are desperately needed on the front. As such, we will have to deploy as soon as possible. I trust this is not an issue?"

"We live to serve." The older looking Devil spoke for the others this time. He was a tall, slender, broad-shouldered Devil with green eyes flecked with gold that wore the guise of a man in his fifties. He head was shaved bald, though he wore a set of bushy golden side-whiskers.

"Good. Now introductions, then we can get on with planning out the details of our deployment."

_Or letting you lot plan it out_ for _me. I don't know the first thing about this kind of thing, only that from my limited experience with armies both back home and in my few months on the frontlines that they need lots of planning._ Devora thought to herself.

"Of course, My Lady." The older gentleman said. "I shall go first then." When no one objected, he began. "I am Lord Tywin Viné of Clan Viné. I specialize in earth magic and siege warfare. I will be serving as one of your generals, commanding your third division."

Gesturing to his aide behind him, a extremely handsome Devil that looked to be in his twenties with blond hair and bright green eyes, he continued. "This is my adjutant, my son and heir, Jamie. He is one of the greatest swordsmen of his generation."

Devora nodded, she could see the family resemblance.

"I'll look forward to see great things from you then, Heir Viné." Devora complimented, which earned her a blush from the young swordsman, before turning to the other devil who had spoken earlier.

"My name is Archox Eligor, Lord of the Eligor Clan. I'm old friend of your mother's." Devora blinked at this, her mother never mentioned this. Then again Devora hadn't spoken to her mother much, she was despite the many children she birthed for her father notoriously unhappy with their arranged marriage - particularly the fact that she was married to her own first cousin - often taking it out on their children, like Devora, by being neglectful.

Unaware of his Satan's straying thoughts, Lord Eligor continued his introduction. "I'm proficient in ice magic and mounted combat. I command your second division. This is adjutant, Hansel Leraje." Here he gestured to yet another blonde haired Devil, this time looking like a man in his late teens with hair that fell to his mid-back much like his superior and grey eyes.

_What's with all these blondes? Is this Rizevim's idea of a joke?_

"And of course, you know your old friends, Leloucia Amon and Atlan Furfur. They are my apprentices in the art of command. In a year of two, once they're experienced enough, they'll be leading their Clan troops under your banner as your fourth division." Eligor finished.

Devora nodded but gave no other acknowledgement. She could wring her friends for why they were here later. If their clans were providing her troops, their fathers as clan heads should have been here instead.

"Very good. With the addition of my father, commanding my first division and garrisoning my lands."

_And wasn't that a bitter pill for Father to swallow. With my elevation to the rank of Satan I automatically outranked him, and he was forced to cede the position as head of the clan to me, making Lady of the Mammon lands. Not that he said anything about it, he knows better than most that I had no choice in any of this and neither does he._

Putting aside her bitter musings, the Satan continued, "That makes all my senior officers. I apologize that I cannot take the time to know you better now, but I'll be sure to do so as time passes. For now let's get down to planning our deployment to the frontlines."

**Flashback ends**

**0 line break 0**

As the day's court session came to an end, Devi reflected that it was once again an uneventful day with only the need to address a couple of minor disputes between residents of [Spiral Urbis Opes]. With so little to go on in regards to the situation with the Ouroboros Dragon, it was decided between Devi, Leloucia and Atlan that until they knew more, it would not be brought up in public, like in court. That said, Devi was still concerned and was of a mind to take some precautionary measures, to that effect, she called for her chief of security, Ellen Marchosias, to remain.

She wore the shape of a seven year-old girl with fair skin, waist-length purple hair that was styled into a Hime-cut, topped with a large red bow, and golden cat-like eyes. Like Leloucia, Ellen was in a wheelchair, though unlike her best friend who had been hurt in the Great War with some kind of magical blade that caused an injury that to date resisted all attempts at healing and had left her paralyzed, Ellen remained in her chair by choice.

She was being pushed around, her chair was enchanted like Leloucia's but she rarely ever used that function, by her wife and former human, Viola. Ellen's former victim turned devoted spouse wore the form that she had possessed when she had first fallen into the sadistic clutches of her wife, that of a 13 year old girl with fair skin and a slender frame. She had blond hair tied into two small braids with messy bangs that hang about her face, and green eyes.

"Ellen, have you been briefed about the situation with the Infinite Dragon God?"

"Of course. Atlan sent out a brief to all of the the senior staff."

"Good. Then I don't need to explain why I would like you to beef up our wards."

"Does this mean I get to use the more _creative_ traps in my labyrinths?" Ellen asked almost pleadingly.

"Yes, Ellen, you may use your more brutal traps." The Satan confirmed, before turning to Viola, "Viola, I trust you to keep Ellen from going overboard."

"Yes, Lady Mammon."

"Hey! I know how to restrain myself."

"Ellen, you don't even understand the meaning of the word. By the Gap, you demonstrated your love for Viola by brutally torturing her." Devi said as she turned accusing eyes on her friend.

"It worked didn't it." Ellen countered with a shrug.

"Well not everyone is like Viola." Devi explained.

"That's true." Ellen conceded. "Fine. I'll tone it down."

"Good. Now go and start working on those upgrades that you're itching to implement." Devi dismissed with a smile.

As the Marchosias couple left, Devi could only shake her head in fond amusement. Ellen hadn't changed much since the first time she'd met her all those years ago.

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback start**

The Marchosias Clan was one of the 72 Pillars and thus one of the highest ranking nobles of Devil kind, this unfortunately meant there was quite a bit of political infighting within its ranks as different branches of the family fought to assume the headship for themselves. Whilst this was true of all the 72 Pillars, the Marchosias Clan was at the moment particularly susceptible to this.

Most of the 72 Pillars, like the Mammons, had a single strong main family headed by a strong head such as Luzen and now Devora - who despite her youth was a Satan and no one in the family was crazy enough to challenge _that_. The Marchosias in contrast had had the misfortune of seeing the majority of its main family wiped out in the Great War, leaving a weak branch family to inherit instead. Sensing this weakness and their own chance at seizing power in the clan, other branch families had pounced on the opportunity to attack the new main family.

This had led to the death of almost the entirety of the Marchosias' mine line for the second time in less than a century. Yes, almost. There had been one survivor of this internecine bloodshed, a daughter by the name of Ellen. She had not escaped unscathed though, her would-be killers had in her case tried to poison her, and whilst she had survived, it had unfortunately left her confined to bed. A condition that thanks to the powerful magical components of the poisons used against her, not even the most powerful healing magic could remedy. Crippled as she was, there was no way that she could become head of the Clan and she was passed over in the succession.

For most, such a turn of events would have destroyed them, but not it seemed for Ellen Marchosias. Instead of wallowing in despair and anger over what had happened to her, she instead strove to get revenge. Though her physical body had been utterly wrecked by the poisons, her magic had been unaffected, so she'd honed this one tool left to her into the absolutely greatest weapon she could. In the process, developing a terrifying new style of magic dubbed [Labyrinth Magic], which she used to trap her victims in phased spaces occupied by massive labyrinths of her own design filled with all kinds of horrors to trap, torment and ultimately destroy her enemies.

Using this deadly new magic she'd had from her lonely cell of a room in a small house on the grounds of the Marchosias main house, trapped her entire family - every last one who could claim the name Marchosias - within one of her labyrinths and watched gleefully as they died one by one at the hands of her creations. By this one act, she became head of the Marchosias Clan whilst also rendering it effectively extinct, since she had no interest in actually governing her Clan and its vassals.

The Satans learning of this had chosen not to intervene, the Marchosias had long since become irrelevant in their calculations anyways. Their losses in the Great War reaching a point where they were only a member of the 72 Pillars in name. They were thus content to leave Ellen alone in the crumbling ruins of her ancestral home playing games with the odd victim she lured into her labyrinths.

Well, most of the Satans anyway. Unlike the others, the Seventh Satan, Devora Mammon, was very interested in Ellen, the Devil of labyrinths.

"So this is the place is it?" A now fifteen year old Devora said rhetorically as she observed the ruins of the once stately Marchosias manor. It's perimeter wall was missing large chunks, and so was the main building that she could see from outside the twisted remains of what had been a sturdy solid steel gate. Everything besides that was covered in vegetation.

"Lucky I didn't bring Lulu or Attie, seeing this they would have not stopped complained about how this Ellen girl has let her heritage rot away." Devi commented as she deployed her wings, all twenty of them, and flew over the ruins towards the only building in the whole compound that looked remotely habitable, a small cottage some distance away from the main building.

She flew slowly, Ellen Marchosias was known for her traps and while Devi was confident she could handle them, there was no harm in being cautious. Her caution was rewarded as she encountered a whole host of traps, mainly transportation traps designed to teleport her presumably into one of Ellen's dreaded labyrinths from which only a handful ever escaped but also other more typical traps such as attack traps that spat elemental attacks at her and traps that released guardian monsters and even a single mechanical trap that fired what looked like a railgun at her! Thank the Gap that she had the foresight to cast protective wards around herself.

The traps didn't let up as Devi entered the cottage, they in fact got much worse. After a whole hour's long slog through at least two dozen traps and navigating the maze like corridors of the spatially distorted cottage, there was no way it was this big on the outside, Devi finally reached her destination, Ellen Marchosias herself.

As Devi entered the bedroom that served as the Devil of labyrinth's "base of operations" and before she could speak even a word, Ellen spoke in a resigned voice, "So the Satans have finally decided that I need to be dealt with, huh? What did I do, kill someone important?"

"Not at all." Devi assured the other girl. "I'm not here to kill you."

"Then what's a Satan doing here?"

"To recruit you."

"Recruit me?" Ellen asked, her skepticism clear in her voice. "Why?"

"Because by virtue of your [Labyrinth Magic] you are a master of defense. And that's something I sorely need for my armies."

"Oh?" Ellen smirked at that. "So you _need_ a defensive specialist like me, huh?"

"Yes, and I am willing to pay you well for your services."

"I'm not interested in your riches, Mammon." Ellen sneered.

"Then what do you want? Anything that's reasonable, I'm willing to provide." Devi offered.

"I want you to heal me."

Devi boggled at that, "Bu-But that's impossible. No known magical or scientific technique is capable of reversing what's happened to you. By the Underworld, they can't even explain how you're even still alive."

"Don't you think. I. KNOW. **THAT!"** The Devil of labyrinths raved.

"Then why ask for the imposs-"

Ellen cut Devi off, "I not asking for you to heal me NOW! I'm asking for you to fund research that can heal me EVENTUALLY!"

The Satan blinked at that, "If that was your goal, why didn't you properly assume the headship of your Clan and use its wealth to do that?"

In response, younger looking Devil begun to laugh in a deranged way.

Mammon just crossed her arms and waited impatiently for the other girl to calm down.

When she finally did, a whole five minutes later, in between wheezes she explained, "Oh! You're hilarious. So naive. Do you really think anyone, even those outside the Clan, would have accepted a crippled Lady Marchosias? Even if I tried to assume the mantle, no one would have accepted it."

Mammon palmed her face at that, "And you call me naive. You think no one would have backed your claim? What about us Satans?"

"What about you lot?"

"Do you understand just how _useful_ your [Labyrinth Magic] is? If you had pushed your claim, I can assure you that the various Satans would have started fighting _each other_ to be your backer."

"And yet you're the only one that's ever come to recruit me." Ellen observed, her voice once more full of skepticism.

"That's because you've been behaving like a rogue. Setting up shop here in the ruins of your ancestral manor and playing crazy serial killer? You're behaving like a loose cannon and the other Satans hate that, handling someone like that is too much risk."

"And you don't mind the risk?"

"I have a lot more to lose than the other Satans, so I'm willing to gamble big." Devi replied cryptically.

"More to lose?" Ellen asked curiously.

"Join me and I might just tell you." Devi cajoled.

"Might?"

"It's private. I'll tell you only if you prove yourself loyal."

"And you'll still fund research into a cure?"

"Of course." Devi promised.

Ellen was thoughtful for a long moment, before a determined look spread across her face.

"Where do I sign?"

**0 line break 0**

Devi was just reviewing the latest version of the draft plans for Ellen's labyrinth for [Spiral Urbis Opes], the third the Marchosias had produced in the week since she'd been recruited, when she had an unwelcome visitor.

"Salutations, Devora~!" Rizevim greeted cheerfully as he stepped out of the magic circle that had teleported him right into the Satan's personal office.

"What do you want, Rizevim?" Mammon asked her fellow Super Devil curtly.

"You wound me, Devora." The son of Lucifer said as he placed his hands over his heart in mock hurt. "Can't an old friend just stop by to say hello?"

"You're no friend of mine, Rizevim." The Satan retorted sharply.

"Is that so? Then I guess I best leave, and here I thought I might want to pass on a couple bits of news. Well, I guess, you're not interested." The older Devil replied in a teasing voice even as he formed a magic circle.

"Wait! Tell me your news before you leave." Mammon said quickly. As much as she hated him, Rizevim was her best point of covert contact between herself and the other Satans. If he'd come bearing news, then it was likely something important.

"Say please~" Rizevim teased in a mocking voice.

"Please." Mammon obliged through gritted teeth.

Rizevim laughed merrily at getting his way before abruptly turning serious. An action that sent chills down Devora's spine, whatever he had to say was likely not going to be pleasant.

"You're right to be nervous, Devora." Rizevim said almost sympathetically, "I don't come bearing good news."

"Out with it." Mammon said in as brave a tone as she could manage.

"The first thing is a congratulations from my father and the other Satans for recruiting the Devil of labyrinths into your entourage. At least that's what they said officially. In reality, well, they want me to warn you not to make waves by building too strong of a following. It makes them nervous and when they're nervous, they're prone to doing drastic things."

"You're being uncharacteristically honest." Mammon commented even as she struggled to keep calm in the face of the thinly veiled threat the other Satans had just issued.

"You may not believe me, Devora, but I do consider you a friend." Rizevim said seriously.

So seriously that for a moment, Devora almost believed him. Almost.

"What's your other bit of news?"

"This is isn't going to be easy on you, Devora, so brace yourself first ok?"

"Just tell me, Rizevim."

"Your sister, Helena, she's dead."

"Big Sister Helena? Dead?" Devora said in utter shock as she sat back heavily in her chair. "How?"

"She was sent on a mission against the Angels, and got ambushed under _suspicious_ circumstances."

Devora understood what the son of Lucifer was implying, her sister had been sent on a mission that had been deliberately compromised to ensure her death. An act that was likely carried out by the other Satans in retaliation for her recruitment of Ellen.

"Thank you for telling me this, Rizevim." Devora said honestly.

"No problem." The eccentric Super Devil replied his cheerful mask once more on his face.

As he summoned a magic circle to teleport away, he turned to the Satan and once again in an uncharacteristically serious tone, said, "Take care, Devora."

For a moment after the man left, Devi remained where she was, stock still. But as the shock of the revelation left her, she burst into sobs.

**Flashback ends**

**0 line break 0**

The Mammon family crypts were located in the deepest part of the hill upon which [Spiral Urbis Opes] was built. Like the throne room, like all Mammon examples of architecture really, the crypt was opulent in design. It's walls were made of soulstone and each of the unique sarcophagi were made of their occupants' favored precious material and designed to suit their tastes, some held carvings of their occupants, others supernatural beasts they had chosen for some reason or the other and a whole assortment of other designs.

Sitting on the landing between the two arched stairs that led down to the floor of the crypt, Devi let her eyes roam over the final resting places of her kin. All of them. She was after all the last Mammon left.

"What's the meaning of all this power?" Mammon asked the still air of the tomb. "I have the power to do impossible things, even cure Ellen of her supposedly incurable paralysis, decimate armies, fight gods even. But in the end, it's all worthless. In the end, it wasn't enough. Not by a long shot."

She let a single tear fall.

"It wasn't enough to save even a single one of you. And for that I'm sorry."

With that the Seventh Satan turned her back on the dead and climbed the steps back up to the rest of her palace. Her daily ritual of regret complete.

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback starts**

The Garden of Eden. A garden of perfect beauty, a land that was graced by the most beautiful plants and animals ever to walk the Earth. Or at least that was as it should be, right now though, it was little more than yet another battlefield in the seemingly unending Great War.

But the battle was over, for the most part at least. The Devils were in full retreat as the Angels, led by their God had launched a devastating counterattack and was steadily driving them off their sacred homeland. In fact, by all rights, the Devils should have long since been routed, so overwhelming was the power presented by the Angel's God. However, the Devils were not without their own powerful leaders and one such leader was now single handedly keeping the Biblical God occupied, thus giving her troops the chance they needed to escape.

"You are most impressive, Young Mammon." The being of pure light that was God commented honestly as he crossed his blade of light with Devi's blade of light sucking void. Normally, his appearance appeared to those who gazed upon him as the face of the most perfect being they could imagine, but to Mammon at least, this didn't seem to work and she saw him as he was, a being of light in a vaguely humanoid shape.

Devi didn't bother to respond, she just disengaged and launched a barrage of void missiles in the general direction of God, and the Angelic host behind him. God responded by easily, almost lazily, launching his own barrage of light missiles which countered Devi's barrage one for one.

"You know of all the Satans, you're probably the best person?" God continued, seemingly completely unfazed by Devi's attack.

The Satan responded with a massive energy blast right to his face, which God just shrugged off and continued talking, "However, like all the Satans you are an epitome of Sin! You lust for power! You hunger for knowledge! Your greed is unending! But above all you seek what you lack, freedom!"

That seemed to strike a nerve, as Devi suddenly launched into a rapid fire barrage of blasts at God even as she screamed at him, "Shut up! You talk you much. Just close that mouth of yours and fight!"

God sighed.

"If you insist, little Satan." God said in a pained voice as he flickered out of view for an instant only to appear a moment later with his light sword slamming into Devi's void blade as she barely raised her guard in time.

The real fight was on.

**0 line break 0**

The command tent of the armies of Mammon was typically a scene of controlled chaos, with a whole battalion of devils coordinating the Satan's forces on the battlefield. Today however, that controlled chaos had descended into true anarchy as the command staff tried desperately to organize the retreating forces into a semblance of order before it became an all out rout.

That however was only one source of the mayhem, another larger source was the argument raging between the army's senior officers.

"No. Not in a million years. Not while I breathe." Lord Eligor declared authoritatively.

"Are you saying then that we abandon Devi out there!? Fighting God of all people, and covering our retreat single handedly, we _need_ to go save her! NOW!" Atlan Furfur accused harshly.

"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous Furfur." Tywin Viné countered. "Archox is merely saying that you can't be part of the rescue force."

"Bu-"

"No buts, Furfur. If I let you go, and any harm came to you, Lady Mammon would have our heads." Archox explained. "Already Amon has been wounded by Michael of all Angels, and with some kind of magical blade that somehow resists our efforts to heal her. That alone is something that I'll have difficulty answering to My Lady about, imagine if you were hurt too. She'll be beside herself."

Atlan bit her lip in frustration, but had to concede the point.

Seeing that he had won the argument, Archox began issuing orders. "Hansel ready the men, Tywin take charge here, we leave in five min-"

Archox never had the chance to finish, as he was midway through his sentence, when a magic circle popped into being in front of him, from which stepped out a badly wounded Devora.

She managed only one step before she collapsed into a faint, right into Archox's arms.

"Healers! Summon the healers NOW!" Was being shouted by a dozen different voices, as Mammon's loyal men rushed to her aid.

**Flashback end**

**0 line break 0**

Devi had just finished locking the doors to her family crypt and was walking through the palace's public crypt when she ran into arguably the most eccentric member of her court, her chief scientist Tohru Honda.

"Tohru, what are you doing down here?" The last Mammon asked the teenaged looking woman. Tohru unlike the beauties that were the other ladies of Mammon's court was rather plain, being of average height, weight, and size with long brown hair and a set of front bangs that framed her brown eyes.

"Oh!" Tohru cried out in surprise, "Devi-sama, you scared me."

Devi arched an eyebrow at this, "Really?"

"Yup." Tohru said enthusiastically. "I saw so busy having lunch that I totally didn't sense you coming. Teehee~!" The scientist trailing off into embarrassed laughter at that admission.

"No souls, right?" Devi asked sternly. As a high-tier specter Tohru could and often did feed on the dead. While as an undead herself she didn't strictly need to eat, she often did consume both mundane food and death energies. The former as a luxury and the latter as fuel for her powers.

"Of course not!" The ghost denied vehemently, "The people resting here are the beloved dead of our people, I wouldn't do something like that to them. Just the ambient death energies of the crypt is enough for me."

"Ok. Ok." Devi replied with a placating smile. "Just checking, Tohru. I didn't seriously think you would do it."

"Moh! Devi-sama can be so mean sometimes." Tohru said with a pout.

"Well, why don't I make it up to you with lunch in the kitchens? We could have the chefs make anything you want."

Eyes sparkling in delight, the specter nodded her head enthusiastically.

Chuckling at her friend's behavior, Devi led the way to the palace kitchens.

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback starts**

Tohru Honda had originally been a girl that everyone who knew her described as sweet and kind. Born into the violent and unstable Sengoku Jidai era of Japan, her personality would have put her at quite the disadvantage already but the death of her family to plague when she was just a little girl had put her, like so many others in her times, on the road to an early death.

Perhaps that would have been the kinder fate for her.

Instead, of death from destitution though, Tohru was instead taken into the Sohma household. A clan of youkai themed around the animals of the Chinese zodiac. For a time, as a servant in their household she had been relatively happy, making friends with some of her masters and even falling in love with one. Unfortunately, this little fairy tale quickly turned into a nightmare for her when her affair with one of the Sohma Lords was discovered. If her paramour had been one of the more respected Lords perhaps she would have just been kept as his mistress or if she was lucky his concubine but she had the misfortune to instead fall in love with the detested outcast, Kyo Sohma. The youkai who by his very existence was seen as an affront to the Head of the clan. So instead of being taken into the family as his lover, she instead become one more instrument by which the Head could demonstrate her hatred for Kyo.

The Sohmas at the command of their Head, brutally tortured her, violating her mind and body all while making Kyo watch. Through it all, Tohru never once renounced her love for him, something which earned her the grudging admiration of her tormentors. She was so steadfast in her love that it allowed her to become a lingering ghost, determined to watch over her beloved even in death.

She only wished she could say the same for her beloved's love for her. He had renounced her as soon as she was brought before his Clan Head. At first, she had thought this was because he had been trying to protect her, renouncing his love for her to spare her his Head's wrath. But as time passed and he found multiple subsequent lovers, as he threw away every memento of their romance that she had so carefully preserved for him in spite of the Sohma Head's cleansing of them, as he sought to forget her utterly, her love turned to bitterness and finally to all consuming rage.

A hundred years after her death, she had transformed from a humble lingering ghost into a terrible spirit of pure wrath. Using the powers her new nature gave her she began exacting her bloody revenge on the Sohmas who had destroyed her. The Sohmas had fought back of course, as youkai they possessed powers that could harm her, but they were never the most martially capable of youkai and in the face of a monstrous undead whose ilk were known to destroy whole nations, they fell one after another.

But not even that managed to sate her thirst for vengeance. Not even the tortuous deaths of the lover who betrayed her nor of the Sohma Head who condemned her was enough.

So she worked towards the task of wiping out the Sohma bloodlines forevermore. A feat made almost impossible by the centuries they had lived and the many relations they had with others, human and youkai.

But Tohru was determined so she began experimenting with combining her natural necromantic powers with the alchemical knowledge that had earned the Sohmas their respected status among their youkai peers in spite of their weakness in combat. Between her plundered knowledge and her powers she created a host of abominations that she unleashed across Japan to sniff out and kill any and all who carried even a drop of Sohma blood.

It was this that brought her to the attention of Devora Mammon.

"Impossible!" Tohru exclaimed in shock as three of her most powerful creations were casually destroyed by the young looking gaijin attacker. "Those three were as strong as a Daiyoukai. To destroy them so easily, how powerful is she?"

"Powerful enough to keep going until you decide to stop hiding and face me!" The gaijin declared.

"Face you? Very well." Tohru declared with as much bravado as she could muster. She knew she could not defeat this opponent, nor could she escape the barrier that had been set up around the secluded forest clearing that she was using as her base. The gaijin was too powerful for that, but if this was her final death then she would face it with as much dignity as she faced her first.

Taking corporeal form for the first time since the start of the battle, Tohru Honda faced her soon-to-be executioner with courage.

"Good. Now we can finally talk."

Shocked by this, Tohru could barely sputter out a, "Ta-Talk?"

"Yes. Talk." The gaijin said with a reassuring smile on her face. "I'm not here to kill you."

"Then why attack me in the first place?" Tohru accused.

"If you'll recall, I didn't. You were the one who attacked me with your pet monsters the moment you saw me."

"Oh! Sorry about that."The ghost sheepishly apologized.

"Not a problem, it was a nice workout."

Tohru was horrified by the fact that this stranger would consider fighting through her most powerful creations a mere workout, but didn't comment.

Her expression must have given her fear away though, as the other woman sent her another reassuring smile and changed the topic by introducing herself, "I'm Devora Mammon, Seventh Satan of Devilkind. What's your name?"

"Tohru Honda." Tohru's inherent politeness allowing her to respond automatically, despite the shock of learning she was in the presence of one of the legends of the supernatural world.

"Well then, Honda-san, let's get down to business shall we?"

"Business?" Tohru asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Yes, business. I'm sorry if this is rushed and confusing but we really don't have time for a more detailed explanation." The Satan actually sounded genuinely apologetic at that.

"Why not?"

"You're created quite the mess with your hunt of the Sohmas. As a result, quite a number of supernatural factions are out to eliminate you."

"I know. I've dealt with quite a few hunters already." Tohru said proudly.

"And that's the problem. By killing those hunters, you've proven yourself a threat and so earned the attention of more powerful beings. Beings you have no hope of defeating."

"Like you?" Tohru accused.

"Like me." Mammon acknowledged. "However, unlike the others who just want your head. I want something else."

"What's that?"

"To recruit you."

"What? Recruit me? Why?"

_Why would a Devil, one of those gaijin supernaturals that had just began to appear in Japan, want to recruit me?_ Tohru thought to herself skeptically.

"Because you're a skilled alchemist, which I need. And you're not a Devil." The Devil explained.

"Why is the fact that I'm not a Devil, be important?" Tohru asked suspiciously. _Does it make me disposable?_

"Because there are few Devils who I can trust are not the agents of the other Satans."

That explained quite a bit. Out of the limited news that had reached Japan about the Devils, the infighting between their Satans was one of the most prominent bits. Often cited by Japanese factions as a sign of their inferiority, since they seemed unable to even keep their own house in order. Hypocrites the bunch of them in Tohru's opinion, the Japanese factions were after all just as divided.

"And if I refused?" Tohru asked bluntly.

"Then I leave. And you'll have to deal with the next hunter. I spotted Susanoo not far from here."

Tohru paled.

"So if you do refuse, I'd advise you run." Mammon suggested helpfully.

There was no choice at all. Tohru couldn't outrun a god.

"If I enter into your service, the hunters will stop hunting me?"

"Yes." Mammon said with confidence. "I've already got a promise to that effect from Susanoo and I can handle the youkai."

_So I'll be safe, but…_

"I'll serve you then, but you'll need to do something for me first." Tohru hesitantly demanded. _I'm gambling with my unlife with this, but I can't just let my grudge go like that._

"You want me to help destroy the Sohma bloodlines don't you?" Mammon was unsurprised, which Tohru could understand, she had not been subtle in hiding her intentions.

"Yes."

"Then here." Mammon said as she passed a scroll over. "That's a bloodline curse. It uses sympathetic magic to target everyone who share blood."

Tohru took the scroll with trembling hands, scarcely believing that the answer to her ambitions might be right in front of her. As she unfurled the scroll and saw that it was exactly what Mammon said it was and that it was well within her ability to cast, she felt her knees give out on her.

"This is-" Tears began flowing down Tohru's cheeks. "This is what I've wanted for years."

Kneeling down beside her, Mammon smiled at her, "I know. Can you cast it? I hope the translation to Japanese was clear enough. If it isn't-"

"The translation is fine. And yes, I can cast it." Tohru said as she wiped her tears away with the back of a hand, even as she stood up. "In fact, let's use it now."

"Now?" The Devil asked sounding surprised. "Don't you need Sohma blood for that?"

"Yes. And I do." Tohru said as she smiled menacingly. "Oh, Kyo-kun~! Come over please."

Suddenly the ground a few meters away from the two women exploded as a twisted abomination unearthed itself from where it had burrowed into the ground. It vaguely looked like a cat, but the undead monster had clearly been heavily modified through the use of alchemy, with a variety of grotesque growths hanging from various parts of its body.

"You're kept the creature you made out of the man who betrayed you?" Mammon asked sounding only curious.

_I guess she's seen worse._ Tohru thought to herself feeling disappointed. _That just means I've gotta work harder!_

"Of course. He's my pet after all." Tohru said as she petted the horribly deformed head of the remains of her one time beloved. "And now he'll be the catalyst to fulfill my ambition."

"Before you start can I check with you that you'll not just pass on after this." Mammon asked sounding unsure for the first time since she'd showed up.

_Did she really_ just _remember that possibility? Guess she isn't perfect either._

"No worries." Tohru replied confidently. "I've long since grown past being anchored to the mortal plane by my ambition. I'm quite stuck here now."

"Good. Good." The Satan said with a relieved sigh. "Let's do this then."

With that, Tohru cast the spell. For a moment after she finished nothing happened, then suddenly the monster next to her exploded in a bloody shower of gore, as did dozens of the monsters in the clearing. This spectacle however was minor in comparison to the bloodbath that happened across Japan as thousands of people, anyone with even a drop of Sohma blood, spontaneously exploded from the inside out.

"You kept so many Sohmas around?" Mammon-sama asked looking at the scene almost admiringly.

"Yes. Mammon-sama. I liked torturing them once in awhile." Tohru admitted from where she had prostrated herself before her new liege.

Perhaps responding to the change in address towards her, Mammon-sama turned from admiring the bloody scene towards her new servant.

"Raise, Tohru." Mammon-sama ordered, and Tohru complied. "Let's get going shall we? I'm hungry and I have it on good authority that Japanese food is quite interesting. Know any good eateries?"

"A few, Mammon-sama" Tohru said with a smile.

"Great, let's go." Mammon-sama declared as she looped her arms with Tohru's own.

"And my pets?" Tohru said gesturing to her remaining creations.

"Just send them to [Spiral Urbis Opes]. Here let me give you the coordinates for the teleportation…"

Following her new liege's instructions, Tohru teleported her horde of abominations to their new home. As they were teleported away, said new liege started dragging her along, commenting as she did that, "This was so much easier than dealing with those Heavenly Dragons. I might've gotten a couple of nice trophies from fighting them but I think you're more of a treasure. Don't you, Tohru?"

**Flashback end**

**0 line break 0**

After an enjoyable lunch with Tohru in the kitchens, where both women were spoiled rotten by the chefs serving practically all their favorites, Devi had retired to her private study to go through some of the inevitable paperwork that ruling a domain produced. As the head of an efficient bureaucracy, most of it amounted to just reviewing decisions made by her subordinates, but it was still something that as a ruler Devi was obligated to do.

It didn't stop it from being mind-numbingly boring after a while though, and after two hours and finally clearly her work for the day, Devi sat back in her upholstered chair and relaxed by admiring the room. As befitting one of Devi's personal spaces, it was the pinnacle of understated opulence. While at first glance it looked like a stereotypical Victorian style study, with wood panel flooring, floor to ceiling shelves on all the walls except for a number of spots where paintings were hung and the window wall which looked out onto yet another fantastic view of the Land of Greed, a cosy freestanding fireplace that was ringed by sofas, and topped off with a large desk set just in front of the window wall. But upon closer inspection, one would discover that all the wood came from extinct trees, the fixtures were made out of gold, the upholstery were made from the leather from mighty supernatural beasts and the padding for the cushions were from the feathers of the same.

Ruminating on these facts only occupied Devi's mind for a moment before her eyes were drawn to one of the paintings. One of her father, Luzen Mammon.

"Father," Devi began solemnly, before her lips quirked into a mischievous smirk. "How did you ever manage to do anything with all the paperwork?"

As expected the painting offered no reply, but Devi was undeterred and continued talking to it.

"You know when you were alive, I never did appreciate just how much of the day to day affairs of the Land of Greed you handled for me."

Devi lapsed into silence then before she grew solemn once again, "Thank you, Father, not only for the help with the paperwork but for everything else too."

Tears pooled in the Satan's eyes, but she stubbornly did not let them fall.

"I'll never forget your sacrifice, Father."

**0 line break 0**

**Flashback start**

Devi was seated in her throne room with a band of half a dozen men on their knees before her. They were clearly fresh off the battlefield, and had rushed to [Spiral Urbis Opes] to seek an audience. They still smelt of blood and gore and their clothes were stained with the same.

"Lord Phenex, why have you come here in such haste?" Devi asked the leader of the men, genuinely concerned and curious. Lord Phenex was a friend of her father's, in fact her father was supposedly visiting him at the moment, so of course she'd be worried at his sudden appearance before her especially in the condition he and his companions were in.

_Had something happened to Father?_ Devi thought worriedly. _Please don't let that be true. He's the last family I have left. The War and the other Satans have claimed everyone else, please not him too._

"I'm afraid, My Satan, that I come bearing ill news. Your father-"

"What has happened to Father?" Devi shouted as she shot from her throne, all thought of maintaining the image of a ruler forgotten.

"I'm sorry, My Lady, but he is-Luzen is dead." Phenex said in a voice wracked by his own grief.

Gasps erupted throughout the court of Mammon at the revelation.

As for the Satan herself, she just collapsed back into her throne a look of shock on her face, "No. Please, tell me you're joking, Phenex. PLEASE!"

Leloucia and Atlan rushed to their friend's side pulling her into a group hug, offering her their support. If this was the court of any other Satan, this would have been a grievous breach of protocol even given the circumstances, but the court of Mammon had always been different.

"I wish I could, My Lady." Phenex admitted as tears rolled down his face.

The Satan Mammon, one of the most feared beings in the world, a Super Devil famous for having held her own against notables like the Biblical God, the Heavenly Dragons and Shiva, broke down.

No one in her court could blame her, the Satan had always been close to her Father and even more so since he became the only other surviving member of her family. To hear of his loss was an immense blow. In fact, far from being disgusted at what outsiders would have called an "unbecoming display", the vassals of Mammon were instead filled with sympathy for their liege and burning fury at those who had caused it.

It was thus no surprise that Archox Eligor strode forth to angrily demand answers from Lord Phenex.

"How did this happen, Phenex! Luzen was only supposed to pay you a polite visit, how did it lead to his death, in what from the state of your clothes I can guess was battle."

"Belphegor," Phenex spat the name of one of the Satans. "That's what happened."

"Explain." A soft, ice cold voice demanded. It was Devora Mammon, who had ruthlessly crushed her emotions to listen to what Phenex had to say. She did not leave the comforting embrace of her best friends though.

"He came to my manor shortly after your father arrived, My Lady." Phenex complied. "He demanded Luzen go on a mission. A suicide mission."

"And Father agreed?"

"He had no choice. Belphegor was holding my household hostage."

Devi nodded, her father would never let someone, much less a friend, lose their loved ones due to the machinations of the other Satans. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"What mission?"

"He was to lead a reconnaissance in force of the Garden of Eden."

"The Angels have turned the Garden into a fortress…" Archox commented, as Devi sucked in a breath.

"Hence, why it was suicidal. It was why I and my men volunteered to accompany him."

"And you survived? How?" Tywin Viné asked accusingly.

"Because Luzen sacrificed himself to cover our escape." Phenex said sounding deeply regretful. "We had planned to just feign an effort and retreat before the Angels could properly respond. But they were waiting in ambush."

"Someone let them know you were coming." Tywin concluded.

"Belphegor most likely. He has been most cross with me about 'stealing his triumph' during the last battle of the Blasted Lands." Devi hypothesized.

"Most likely, I'll check." Atlan added.

"We can worry about that later. Lord Phenex, did Lord Mammon have any last words for Devora?" Leloucia asked.

"Yes, he did." Phenex said as he pulled himself up to look Devi in the eyes. "With his last breath he told me to tell you, My Lady, to 'Be free.'"

Once more gasps broke out throughout the throne room, they all knew what those words meant.

Secession.

**0 line break 0**

Outside the first gate of the great Devil city of [Spiral Urbis Opes] stood a quartet of beings.

On one side were Rizevim Lucifer, and two of the Satans, Belphegor and Abaddon. On the other, barring them entrance to her city was Devi.

"What is the meaning of this, Mammon?" Belphegor bellowed. Unlike most Devils, Belphegor did not bother with a humanoid form, through the use of a host of twisted magics, he had transformed himself into a monster. His face consisted of an animalistic muzzle, his ears narrowing to points, and he had a pair of powerful curves of bone for horns. From his back grew six enormous wings, each bat-like and bound at the joint by a length of chain. He had a powerfully built body of furred muscle, with chiseled abs and a chest with a red, bat-like tattoo. His two huge arms ended in strong, clawed hands and around each bicep curled a golden ring. Each forearm was wrapped tightly by lengths of chain and the back of each hand was covered by a golden glove. He had a thumb of pure flesh on each hand, but all of his other fingers had been sheathed in claws of glowing energy. His digitigrade legs had another length of chain wrapped around his right thigh while a pair of leather belts curled around the other, which ended in a pair of clawed feet that were wrapped in bandages.

"You are no longer welcome in my city, Belphegor, Abaddon, Rizevim. That is why I redirected your teleports here." Devi explained calmly,

"How dare you, whelp?" Abaddon accused. "You forget your place. We are your superiors. You have no right to deny us-"

"I am a Satan. I have every right!" Devi countered fiercely, unfazed by the bald devil in his suit of oversized power armor that was Abaddon.

"Why don't we all just calm down, yeah?" Rizevim interjected in a bid to calm the tense situation.

"Be quiet, boy." Abaddon chided the son of Lucifer.

"You may be a Satan girl, but only because we allow it. Know your place." Belphegor told Mammon, completely ignoring Rizevim.

"No." Devi rebutted. "You are on _my_ lands, in front of _my_ fortress. You will _not_ lord over me."

Belphegor seemed furious at this, but Abaddon chuckled before saying, "Finally standing up for yourself, eh, girlie? About time."

"Abaddon?"

"Relax old friend, the girl's right, she's a Satan too. She deserves some respect."

Belphegor didn't seem to agree but didn't dispute his friend's statement either, instead settling for glowering at Devi.

"Right, now that everything's settled, let's get down to business shall we?" Rizevim spoke up.

"Let's. I have plenty of work to do and would like to get back to it." Devi said tauntingly.

"Work?" Belphegor snarled. "What work would occupy your time so much that it made you forget to obey your orders to deploy to the frontlines with your army?"

"Administrative matters about the running of my lands. Boring but necessary."

Belphegor growled at that, while Abaddon stiffened and looked at Devi coldly, "Are you rebelling, girl?"

Suddenly a ways behind the two male Satans, Rizevim was shaking his head at Devi. Warning her desperately not to go down this path.

_It's too late for that, Rizevim. I'm not your puppet anymore._

"Yup!" Devi casually declared as she deployed her wings and gathered her magic about her, causing streams of void energy to begin orbiting around her.

Abaddon drew his sword, a wicked zweihander that glowed blood red from the multitude of deadly enchantments worked into it.

Belphegor set his chains on fire and extended his energy claws.

Rizevim just kept shaking his head, "Devi, is there any other way?"

Devi's answer was to launch a barrage of void missiles at her three opponents.

**0 line break 0**

The battle was brutal, but after two hours of fierce battle Devi was the last one standing. More than once her men had tried to help her by attacking her opponents from the walls, thankfully Eligor had heeded her instructions and kept anyone from rushing out, but that had caused more harm than good, as it led her enemies to target them and forcing her to shield them and thus losing her the initiative. Fortunately, after a while her generals must have managed to rein her men in, and they had stopped and instead followed her orders and hunkered down behind the heavy battlements to wait out the fight.

As she stood on the devastated battlefield in front of the gates to her city, she surveyed her handiwork.

Abaddon's prized Despoiler armor was a shattered wreck and the Devil within had been reduced to a bloody pulp.

_Got to recover that armor, who knows what secrets I can learn from it._ Devi idly noted to herself as she turned her attention to the other corpse of the field, Belphegor's.

The monster's body was remarkably intact, it was missing a couple of wings and claws but was otherwise whole, surprising considering the amount of punishment that Devi had rained on him to put him down.

_Gotta examine that one too._ Devi scanned the battlefield once more. _Rizevim isn't here? He must have escaped, damn that snake._

At those thoughts, her exhaustion began to exact its toll and she collapsed to her knees. Behind her, the city gates opened and her men rushed to her side but she paid them no mind.

_But it doesn't matter. Not now, not when I'm finally…_

"Free!"

That single word washed over her body as tears of joy spilled from her eyes.

Freedom, it had been so long since she could claim it.

And without doubt it was the sweetest fruit she had ever tasted.

**0 line break 0**

**AN:**

**Well here's the first chapter of my DxD fic.**

**As you can tell it's OC-centric and OC heavy. Hopefully that won't be too much of a problem.**

**For people who care about overall plot so early on, like I would, let me just give a few hints. Canon will remain largely the same, with a few butterflies here and there, but with Devi's story being the focus and near the end taking the spotlight. I originally wanted to avoid the last bit and let Issei and co. have their day in the sun. But in the end, I don't like Issei enough to relegate my MC to being some background character.**

**Since this fic is OC-heavy and I'm quite skimpy on descriptions [the plot is just more important to me], I'm going to provide a list for readers to see who the characters look like. Some won't be in the list, simply because they don't appear in significant enough of a way for me to have bothered to give them a chosen appearance [like Lord Phenex's companions] or they're from canon but have a vague description and I don't want to contradict canon [like the original Lucifer and Lord Phenex]. Others are their canon appearances like Rizevim. Others like the Biblical God I just think I did well enough already.**

**Devora "Devi" Mammon:** **Diva from Blood+ but with orange eyes**

**Lelouica "Lulu" Amon: Nunnally from Code Geass**

**Atlan "Attie" Fuffur: Furfur from Umineko**

**Luzen Mammon: Saito Hajime from Rurouni Kenshin**

**Tywin Viné: Tywin Lannister from A Song of Fire and Ice**

**Jaime Viné: Jaime Lannister from A Song of Fire and Ice**

**Archox Eligor: Armored mode = Persona 3 Eligor; Normal mode = Allen Schezar from Vision of Escaflowne**

**Hansel Leraje: Legolas from LOTR movies**

**Ellen and Viola Marchosias: Ellen and Viola from Witch's House**

**Tohru Honda: Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket**

**Belphegor: Belphemon Rage Mode from Digimon**

**Abaddon: Abaddon the Despoiler from Warhammer 40k**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM. Preferably someone who can help with making my characters less stiff, something which I know this fic struggles with.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	2. From the ashes, comes new beginnings

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 2: From the ashes, comes new beginnings**

Time passed and the world turned, and with it everything changed. Shortly after Mammon's secession from the rest of Devilkind, while the rebel Satan and her followers readied themselves for what they thought was the inevitable suppression force to be sent against them by the other Satans, the inconceivable took place.

The Great War's chief instigators, the Satan Lucifer and the Biblical God, both died.

In what was described by observers as a truly epic battle, an admittedly strangely weakened and distracted God joined battle with Lucifer and slew him. However, the act had drained the deity and left him open to being slain himself by the Fallen lord Kokabiel. This last fact itself caused great confusion, and for the more astute worry, as under other circumstances Kokabiel would have likely stood no chance of carrying out the deed. So what had weakened God so much, that he would so easily be killed?

It was a great mystery but one that was temporarily set aside for unraveling later by the Factions in the face of more pressing matters. The deaths of Lucifer and God had left gaping power vacuums in the ranks of both the Angels and the Devils. Reeling from this, both Factions withdrew from the war to reorganize themselves. The Fallen quickly following suit as they instead turned their attention towards finding ways to deal with their greatly depleted ranks, a major problem for what was from the onset already the Faction with the smallest population.

With the Three Factions no longer interested in the Great War, it effectively came to end. Though no formal agreement was signed and the occasional skirmishes would continue to take place.

This state of affairs was helped along by internal developments among the Devils themselves. While the Devils were in great disarray with the death of Satans Lucifer, Belphegor and Abaddon and the defection of Satan Mammon and her armies, they were also the only Faction that still planned to continue the Great War. However, these plans were scuttled when Civil War broke out. For centuries, the Satans had forced their people into a war that most Devils had increasingly come to see as unwinnable, forcing them to endure untold hardships in the process and building up great resentment and discontent towards them as a result. When even the loss of more than half their number failed to make the Satans see reason, their subjects could take no more and led by Serafall Sitri, Falbium Glasya-Labolas, and the two Super Devils Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth rose up in rebellion.

During the Civil War, both Devil factions - which had been given the names the Old and New Satan Factions by the common Devils - sought to court Mammon and her armies into siding with them. Both wanted Mammon's legendary power and the strength of the last intact Great War army to add to their own strength. The Old Satan Faction offered her amnesty for her defection and even a promotion to "first among equals" within the ranks of the Satans. The New Satan Faction appealed to her desire to be free from the other Satans. Devora rebuffed both sides. She wanted no part in their war, she had had enough of war. All she wanted was to be left alone to grieve her losses.

Her decision garnered her the ire from both Factions, with the Old Satan Faction seeing her as more of a traitor than before and the New Satan Faction declaring her a coward. Neither Mammon nor her people paid them any heed.

They barely enough attention to the outside world to notice that the New Satan Faction had won the Civil War and that its leaders had taken on the mantle and title of Satan for themselves.

This willful disregard for the outside world was aided a great deal by the fact that after the Civil War, the Land of Greed and its peoples seemed to be all but forgotten. A turn of events that Devora and her lieutenants were sure was a result of the efforts of the new Satans, they were the only ones with the influence to do something like this after all. While there was debate over why they would do such a thing, Devora personally felt it was in respect of her wishes to be left alone. She had known the newly crowned Four Great Satans before the Civil War and knew they were good people.

Whatever the reason, it was thanks to being largely forgotten that the Land of Greed passed the two centuries after Mammon's killing of her fellow Satans Belphegor and Abaddon in peace.

"Devi, Tohru, are the two of you absolutely sure this is perfectly safe?" Leloucia Amon asked, as she she watched her two friends tinker about with an artifact in the shape of a grandfather clock within one of the labs located in the depths of the diamond hill that was the foundation of their home, [Spiral Urbis Opes].

"Perfectly. Don't you trust my work, Lulu?" Devora Mammon replied to her best friend with a pout.

"I do." Leloucia replied automatically. And it was not just a mere platitude for her best friend and liege either. Over the two centuries of their exile, Devora had developed a great love for and skill in artificing. She'd produced dozens of wondrous creations that Leloucia and all the people of the Land of Greed marveled at.

Leloucia however couldn't help but be uneasy with her Lady's latest experiment.

"But tinkering with time itself? That sounds dangerous."

"Oh don't worry, Amon-sama. We've done plenty of small scale tests already. It worked fine." Tohru reassured.

Leloucia was genuinely relieved to hear that. At least this wasn't some crazy idea that either of their resident mad scientists, Tohru or Devora, had come up with and was rushing to put to the test without taking the adequate precautions beforehand. If Tohru, their head of R&D said they did tests beforehand then everything was in order.

Tohru might be a mad scientist, but she was honest to a fault and took her responsibility as the Land of Greed's R&D head very seriously. If she vouched for the safety of the experiment, even implicitly, then it should be fine.

Leloucia was still nervous though.

"Trust us, Lulu. This is not anymore dangerous than working with the void and I do that all the time."

"The void is your natural element, Devi. Time isn't."

"That's why we needed all those tests, Amon-sama. Now relax, we're ready to start." Tohru said as she stepped back from the artifact apparently finished with whatever last minute modifications or checks she'd been carrying out. "Devi-sama, would you like to do the honors?"

"Yes, thank you Tohru." Devora said with a smile to her fellow tinkerer as she took a step back from the artifact and gave it a final visual once over.

Giving a satisfied nod, she walked over to the machine and gripped a lever, the activation switch, on its right side.

"Here it goes." The Satan said enthusiastically as she pulled the lever down.

At the exact same moment, less than a meter away from the last Mammon, a magic circle sprang into being.

* * *

**A short while earlier**

A beautiful, young girl with dark blue eyes and long blonde hair tied into twintails with large, drill-like curls that were kept in place with blue ribbons but which left several bangs hanging over her forehead in a V-shaped fringe hanging over the bridge of her nose was happily running through a beautiful grassy plain.

She was Ravel Phenex. The fourteen years old youngest child and only daughter of the Phenex Clan of Devils, one of the 72 Pillars that made up the Devil aristocracy and she was enjoying a fun day trip as part of her studies.

"Woah!" The young devil said in awe at the beautiful landscape. "Teacher, was this really the site of the Battles of the Blasted Lands?"

"Indeed it was," a older looking brunette devil dressed in a suit and a top hat replied.

"It can't be," Ravel said with a shake of her head, "how can someplace so beautiful have ever been called the Blasted Lands?"

Her teacher just chuckled, " A lot can change after two centuries, my lady."

"Really?"

"It is true," the teacher replied with confidence. "As I've said, I fought in the last Battle of the Blasted Lands under your father's banner in the armies of Lady Mammon herself. So I can say with confidence that this beautiful place was truly once the Blasted Lands."

Ravel's eyes grew wide at the mention of the Lady Mamon, the legendary Lost Satan. While most Devils reviled the Satan for her decision to stay neutral during the Civil War and were happy to have her forgotten, the Phenex Clan were not one of them. Ravel's father, Lord Phenex, had fought alongside Lady Mammon during the Great War and had only the utmost respect for her, something he had passed on to all his children. He also knew better than most why the Satan had chosen exile after the War, and so respected her decision, something that he also passed on to his family.

After all, losing one's whole family was not an easy pill to swallow.

Because of her father's teachings, Ravel had grown up admiring the exiled Satan.

"Lady Mammon fought here?" Ravel said reverently.

"She did. Though you should already know this, since I covered it in our classes just yesterday." The teacher said with a shake of his head.

Ravel ignored him, instead surveying the former battlefield with new eyes.

"Teacher, can I go explore?"

"Of course, this is why we came here in the first place." The teacher said with a smile.

"Just don't go too far, Young Mistress." The older devil added as his young charge sprinted off.

"Yes, Teacher." Ravel shouted back absently as she raced around the plain looking for any sign of the ancient battle.

It took Ravel a few minutes to find something in the tall grass that had overgrown much of the former battlefield. It was an amulet of some kind, with a handful of runes etched into it.

"Teacher, what's this?" Ravel asked as she waved her discovery around for her teacher to see.

He took one glance at it, and a smile spread across his face. "It's what we called a hearthstone charm, Young Mistress. An artifact created by Lady Mammon's alchemist, Lady Tohru, that teleports the user to safety when activated. It's set to activate whenever the wearer suffers a serious injury. It saved us common soldiers from death on many a occasion."

"But then what is it doing here? I mean, did someone stupidly throw it away or something?" The young Devil asked innocent confusion and curiosity painted across her face.

"More likely it was cut off by an attacker before it could activate My Lady. The enemy quickly discovered the purpose of the charms and often aimed their attacks to destroy them before they could save their wearers." The teacher explained grimly. "That or it was defective. Lady Mammon was the only Satan who tried to equip all her troops with charms like this - others only ever gave it out to their lieutenants - but that meant mass producing them, which inevitably leads to a certain drop in quality."

"Then how do I know whether this is defective or not?"

The older devil looked thoughtful for a moment, before muttering to himself softly. "Hmm… The charm is more than two centuries old, it's probably not going to work either way." Ravel's face fell at this, she was really curious about the charm. "But maybe if demonic power was channeled through it… hmm… that might work… at least well enough to check if it's defective or not. It should be safe, after all the charm only activates when the wearer is wounded, and Lady Ravel is unharmed, so..."

Hearing that, Ravel too curious about her find to worry about the consequences, channeled her demonic power into the charm.

Immediately, a magic circle appeared around Ravel and faster than either devil, or any potential enemy, could react teleported the girl away.

Normally the magic of the charm, as Ravel's teacher had explained, would have sent its user to safety. This meant a predetermined place such as the field hospital, for medical treatment. However, what the teacher had not known was that this was only the case in times of a medical emergency. The charm had also been issued to Mammon's troops as a way to allow them to rapidly muster at her location when she needed them. As a soldier who had only fought under Mammon's command for one battle, and within the Phenex detachment seconded to it for the lone battle no less, he was simply not familiar with all the charm's functions.

As a result, when Ravel channeled her demonic power into the charm, it activated its secondary function and teleported her to Mammon's side.

* * *

"Here it goes." Devi said enthusiastically as she pulled the lever down.

As she did, she noticed a magic circle come into being just to her side.

_Wha-_ Was all the Satan managed to think to herself before the artifact she just activated exploded. Acting on battle honed instinct, Devi immediately encased the artifact in a sphere of void energy, and proceeded to consume everything within.

"Devi!" Leloucia cried out worriedly as she pushed her wheelchair closer and grabbed Devi's hands as she checked her for injuries. "What happened?"

"I don't-" Devi began only to be cut off by Tohru.

"This girl happened," The specter declared as she restrained a young girl with blonde twintails, the blade of her scythe at the girl's neck.

The girl was visibly terrified and only grew more so when the doors to the lab blew open and a surge of guards rushed in, their swords drawn, Archox in his full armor at their head.

"What is the meaning of this?" Devi asked her trusted general.

"Ellen detected an intruder, My Lady." Archox explained to his liege as he surveyed the room, his eyes falling on Tohru's prisoner. "This girl I presume."

The girl tried to shrink back as Archox moved to loom over her, his hand resting threateningly on the hilt of his sword, but between Tohru's grip and blade at her throat she was stuck.

"Who are you, girl? Where did-"

"Archox, stop! All of you calm down, now. That's an order!" The Satan shouted, as she pulled Archox away from the girl.

"My Lady?" The knightly Devil replied, sounding confused.

Devi ignored him. "Tohru let the girl go. Can't you all see you're just scaring her."

"But-" Tohru began, only to be cut off.

"I said that's an order!" Devi repeated authoritatively.

Tohru, Archox and his men exchanged nervous looks but complied, standing down. They kept their swords bared though, after all their liege had not been specific with her orders and they wanted to be ready if the girl was indeed a threat.

Noticing but ignoring her men's overprotectiveness, Devi instead turned her attention to the girl.

"Hello there, mind telling me your name, little one?" Devi asked in what she hoped was a soothing voice.

"Ra-Ravel Phenex, My Lady." The girl hesitantly said, with a hasty curtsy.

"Phenex?" Devi asked surprised and took a closer look at the girl, finally spotting the family resemblance. "You're related to Rize?"

"Lord Rize is my father, My Lady." The girl, no Ravel, supplied.

"His daughter? He had a daughter?" Devi said surprised, the last she knew -admittedly from two hundred years ago - he wasn't even married.

"Yes, Devi. It's in Attie's reports, remember?" Leloucia reminded.

"Ah! I must have missed it." Devi replied as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

Lulu just shook her head, a bemused smile on her lips.

"Anyways, Ravel, how did you get here?" Mammon asked with a reassuring smile as she turned back to the girl.

"Err… I was having a field trip to the site of the Battles of the Blasted Lands with my teacher, when I picked this up." Ravel brought up an amulet for Devi to examine. "I wanted to find out if it was defective or not, so I channeled some of my demonic power into it and the next thing I knew I was here."

Devi examined the amulet briefly, "So you activated the hearthstone amulet without any injuries and so it transported you to me like it's secondary functions dictated...hmm…" Taking the amulet from an unresisting Ravel, she looked it over more closely, "It looks undamaged… Aha! The friend or foe function is down, that's why it teleported you even though you're not it's registered user… But how did it manage to bring you here through Ellen's wards?"

Looking at Ravel with a burning intensity that made the girl gulp, she asked "Do you remember anything odd about the teleport?"

"It was very fast-"

"That's how it's supposed to work. Anything else?"

"Err…"

"Anything! Anything at all?" Devi pressed.

"There was a flash of blue?"

Everyone tensed at that.

"Blue?"

"Yes!?"

"You're sure?"

"I think so. Everything was so fast-"

"I see." Devi said to herself thoughtfully as she started pacing.

"My Lady?" Archox asked sounding concerned. "That sounds like-"

"Someone used the hearthstone as a catalyst to send this girl here. Punching through Ellen's wards to do so." Tohru cut in with the explanation. "That takes a _lot_ of power."

"Or skill. Or both." Devi confirmed with a nod. "Lulu, anyone we know that would benefit from something like this?"

"Not that I can think of, I'd need to check with Attie though."

"And the girl?" Archox asked, still gripping the hilt of his sword.

"Is not a threat." Devi declared. "I've cast a dozen spells to check."

Ravel gasped at that, she was probably surprised since she'd not noticed even one of those spells.

"When?" The girl gasped out.

"When I was scanning the hearthstone. I scanned you too."

"But I didn't see anything."

"It's called subtle magic, little girl, my liege is a master of it." Archox informed the young Devil coldly.

"Archox, be nice." Devi reprimanded. "Ravel, here is our guest."

"Guest?" The armored Devil replied incredulous.

"Yes, our guest." Devi reiterated.

Sighing, the man nodded.

"Lulu, take care of her accommodations will you? I and Tohru need to figure all this out." Mammon said with a gesture to the hearthstone amulet and the empty space where the clock-like artifact once stood.

"Of course, Devi." Lulu said as she turned to Ravel with a smile. "Now, Ravel why don't you come with me."

"Err… Sure." Ravel said as she followed Amon out of the lab, looking visibly out of her depth. She seemed to collect herself a bit as the two reached the lab's doors though and turned to Devi, "My Lady, may I ask where I am and who you are? So that I may know how to address you."

"Oh! Where are my manners." Devi said with an embarrassed laugh. "You're in the Land of Greed, specifically the city of [Spiral Urbis Opes]. And I'm Devora Mammon."

Ravel fainted dead away.

Devi just blinked, "Was it something I said?"

Her men just shrugged, just as confused by Ravel's reaction as she was.

* * *

Ravel awoke to a wonderfully comfortable bed, even more comfortable than her own back home, this along with her wonderful dream brought a smile to her face. She had dreamed she'd met her heroine, the Lost Satan, Devora Mammon and was even welcomed into her home as a guest. It was such a ridiculous dream, there was no way that Satan Mammon would do something like that. She'd refused visitors for centuries, even going so far as erecting magical barriers and deploying troops along the borders of her lands to keep people out. There was no way she'd invite her to visit.

As silly as it was though, it was a pleasant dream nonetheless. She'd always wanted to meet the Satan.

"Oh you're awake!" A voice she recognized from her dream said from her right.

_That's the voice of Satan Mammon in my dream… But that was a dream… Am I still dreaming?_

Ravel bit the inside of her cheek.

_Ow. So I'm not dreaming… But that means…_

Sitting bolt upright in her bed, Ravel turned to look at the source of the voice and to her utter shock realized that it was the woman who in her "dream" claimed she was Satan Mammon.

"Who-Who are you?" Ravel asked hesitantly.

"You must have missed my introduction yesterday." The woman who might be Satan Mammon said with a pretty smile.

_No I didn't… I just don't know if whatever happened was real or not…_

"My name is Devora Mammon."

_By the Gap! She's really Satan Mammon!?_

"You can call me Devi."

_Wait! Maybe she's an impostor and all this is some elaborate kidnapping attempt._

"Prove it! The Lady Mammon is the only Devil to know how to use void magic, show me some and prove that you're the Satan and not some crazy kidnapper."

The woman seemed amused at being called a possible kidnapper.

_How odd._

"What a smart girl. It's wise of you to be cautious. But I assure you that I'm really Devora Mammon." The woman said as she summoned a ball of dark energy to her right hand. Ravel recognized the energy immediately, it was just like the silver of void energy that her Father kept as a treasured gift from the Lady Mammon.

_That means…_

"Lady Mammon!?" Ravel said with a gasp.

"Yes?" The Satan replied teasingly.

Ravel immediately threw off her covers, fell to the floor and prostrated herself before the older Devil.

"A thousand apologies, My Satan! I didn't mean to be so disrespectful."

The Great Satan just giggled and waved her hand dismissively, "It's quite alright. It was understandable under the circumstances."

"Still-" Ravel was cut off by the Satan kneeling in front of her and pulling her to her feet.

"As I said, you're forgiven."

"Thank you, Lady Mammon."

"Call me Devi."

"I could never." Ravel said automatically.

_How can I possibly refer to a Satan so familiarly?_

"I insist. You're my guest and I want you to be comfortable. Referring to me by my formal titles all the time is not the way to do that. Besides, they're a mouthful and it gets annoying to hear them all the time."

_What can I possibly say to that?_

"If you're sure it's alright, My-" Satan Mammon gave her a mild glare and Ravel hastily corrected herself. "Devi."

"Good. And yes I'm sure." The Gre- no Devi, said as she gestured for Ravel to sit on the bed. "Now that that's settled, I'm afraid we're going to have to talk about something a little more upsetting."

"Upsetting?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Is something wrong?"

_Did I do something wrong?_

"In a manner of speaking. You see, Ravel, due to certain circumstances you're trapped here in the Land of Greed for the next fifty years." Devi said kindly.

_Did I hear that right? Trapped? For_ fifty years _?_

"Wha-How? Why?" Ravel sputtered out.

"It had to do with _when_ you arrived. You see, just as you arrived, I and my assistant were about to conduct a test of our latest invention, a artifact that dilates time itself."

Ravel's mind boggled at the very concept. Or at least she would have if she was focused on anything else besides being trapped for fifty years.

"Unfortunately, Ravel you arrived through someone's manipulations just as I activated the artifact. Somehow, and we're still working that out, this caused some kind of feedback that caused it to malfunction and explode."

"Explode? Please tell me you can fix it." Ravel asked frantically, just barely a hairs breath away from full blown hysterics.

"You really are a smart girl." The Sa- _No, Devi. she wants me to call her Devi_ \- complimented with a slightly desperate look. She must have thought that a little inanity would help distract from the bad news.

_Well, it's not working! Now's not the time to be complimenting me, My Sata-Devi! I'm going to be separated from everything I've ever known for a half century! As much as I wanted to meet my heroine, I didn't want it to be like this!_

"You understood straight away that the time dilation must be in effect and without the artifact we can't deactivate it."

"Can you fix it?" A desperate Ravel repeated.

Devi sighed, probably disappointed that her attempt to divert the topic had failed, and apologized. "I'm sorry. But when it exploded, I was standing right next to it. I reacted on instinct and had my void magic consume the explosion and the artifact entirely. It's gone."

"Can you build a new one instead?"

Devi shook her head sadly. "We only had one hair of Ophis, without it the artifact won't work."

At this Ravel started crying, though she managed to ask, "And the time dilation will last fifty years?"

"Yes, it'll compress time so that while a single year passes to the rest of the world, for us it'll be fifty times that."

Ravel just nodded and broke into sobs.

_Father. Mother. My Brothers. Fifty years…_

Ravel didn't notice as Devi sat on the bed beside her and pulled her into a comforting embrace. All she could think about was how she'd fulfilled a dream only for it to become a nightmare.

* * *

It took a whole week after learning about the time compression before Ravel finally composed herself enough to leave her rooms. Devi was honestly quite impressed by that, the girl's quick recovery from the knowledge that she'd unexpectedly been separated from everything she'd ever known was a sign of great emotional fortitude.

Combine that to Ravel's quick wittedness and Devi found the girl to be a very promising young Devil.

Well, that and the fact that she was very cute.

_Wait! Where in the world did that come from?_ Devi chided herself mentally as she shook her head.

"Is something the matter Devi?" Ravel asked clearly concerned by her companion's odd behavior.

"Oh nothing, just thought of something is all." Devi deflected, before changing the topic. "So are you excited to meet everyone else?"

This was the first day since Ravel's recovery, and the two were heading to a lunch where Devi had arranged for Ravel to be introduced to her Court. In fact, Devi was fairly sure that the prospect of this meeting was a great help to Ravel in her efforts to pull herself together. Meeting one's heroes was after all quite the way to distract oneself from grief.

"I am." Ravel said excitedly. "Of course meeting you was incredible but now getting to meet all your lieutenants too? All these famous Devils? It's like icing on top of my cake."

"I see. Well, then I hope they don't disappoint." Devi said as they stopped before the door to the Throne Room. "Here we are, my Throne Room."

Ravel gasped. "Your Throne Room? You mean we're meeting them in the fabled Throne Room of Mammon?"

Devi smiled at that, Ravel's hero worship of everything about her was incredibly satisfying.

"Where else would we meet my Court?" Devi teased, as she pushed open the solid gold doors.

As Ravel gasped once more at the sight of her Throne Room, she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face for impressing the girl. In fact she was so distracted admiring Ravel's reaction, she didn't notice the knowing, amused and pleased looks that crossed the faces of most of her Court at _her_ reaction.

"Done gawking at my interior design, Ravel? We have 'famous Devils' to meet." Devi finally asked after a few minutes.

Ravel just nodded, and still admiring the Throne Room's decor followed Devi over to the front of the vast room to meet the most prominent members of her Court who were seated around a long conference table set up just before the dais for the occasion.

"Here Ravel, take a seat and let me make the introductions." Devi said as she guided a still awestruck Ravel into a seat. "Everyone, as you all already know, we are gathered here today to introduce ourselves to our honored guest, Ravel Phenex. Ravel, anything to say?"

All Ravel managed was a "Eep!"

_How adorable!_

A sentiment that seemed to be shared by quite a few others if their smiles and soft laughter was anything to go by. Much to the young girl's embarrassment as demonstrated by her fetching blush.

"Well, it looks like she's too tongue-tied at the moment, let's continue first. Shall we?"

Walking over to Leloucia, Devi began her introductions with her best friend.

"You're met Lulu before, but let me introduce the two of you formally. This is Leloucia Amon, my best friend since childhood and one of the, if not _the,_ greatest strategic minds of all Devilkind."

"You're too kind, Devi." Lulu denied. "Hello Ravel, it's nice to meet you. Since I know you've been calling my friend Devi, you can call me Lulu."

"And you can call me Attie!" Devi's other best friend cut in excitedly, going so far as to raise her right hand and wave it in the air to catch everyone's attention.

"Attie, jumping the gun much?" The Satan reprimanded teasingly.

"What? Lulu was done." Attie said with a playful smile as she crossed her arms in mock defensiveness.

Devi just sighed. "Yes, well. Lulu is also my Seneschal, so if you need anything and can't find me, just ask her alright?"

Ravel nodded, apparently yet to find her voice again.

Shooting her a reassuring smile, Devi continued.

"This woman who so rudely interrupted us just now, is my other best friend for ages, Atlan Furfur. She's my spymaster, so if you want the latest gossip get it from her. Just be careful, she just loves playing matchmaker, so expect her to get you to do something like go on a date with someone as payment for her services."

"Ravel can get my help free of charge." Attie declared uncharacteristically.

"Really?" Devi asked genuinely surprised.

"Yup. She's already on the right track after all." Attie said sporting a knowing grin.

_What do you mean by that, Attie?_

"Is that so? Well, you're lucky then Ravel." Devi said even as she eyed Attie with a suspicious look, which the other Devil just ignored.

"Thank you." Ravel managed to squeeze out.

Finding that she couldn't read anything from Attie's demeanor, Devi moved on. She could get her answers later. As she did so, she didn't notice the meaningful look Attie shot Ravel while pointing at her back.

Nor did she notice Ravel blushing scarlet at the implication, at least until she turned back around for the next introduction.

"Ravel, you ok?" Devi asked worried about why the girl was suddenly blushing so badly.

"Ye-Yes." Ravel squeaked out.

"If you're sure-"

"I am! Just umm… keep going. Please."

Devi nodded but shot Attie a look, she knew that somehow Ravel's discomfort was her friend's fault.

"Alright. This is Ellen Marchosias and the woman she's playing footsie with - yes, Ellen, Viola, I can see it- is her wife Ellen."

"The Devil of the Labyrinth is married?"

"Yup! For a hundred or so years now." Ellen cheerfully replied.

"A hundred and eight years this year." Viola confirmed.

"Oh wow! What Clan are you from, Miss Viola?" Ravel asked curiously.

Ellen stiffened at the question, but Viola put a restraining hand on her arm and replied easily, "None. I was human before I married Ellen. I'm a light Devil now though."

"You're a reincarnated Devil? What Piece are you?"

Viola just looked confused by Ravel's question.

"We don't use Evil Pieces here, Ravel." Attie explained. "It was created after our exile and while we have a few sets that we acquired over the years to experiment with, we don't actually use them."

"Oh! Sorry." Ravel apologized quickly to Viola, clearly afraid she'd insulted the older Devil in some way due to her misunderstanding.

"It's ok, Ravel. It's an easy mistake to make." Devi reassured, before adding to Attie's explanation. "Ellen became a devil through the use of a ritual."

"Ah! Aren't those risky?" Ravel shot back almost instantly, showing just how learned she was for her age. The rituals in question were obscure bits of magic that most Devils didn't even know existed, thus Ravel even knowing they existed, much less that they were risky things, was quite the feat.

"Very." Viola confirmed, as she sent her wife a loving smile. "But to be with Ellen, it was worth it."

Devi quickly spoke up, mindful that if she did not it was likely Viola would quite likely start up a monologue about how wonderful her wife was. "Moving on, this is Archox Eligor. My lead general. Who you've met when he tried to scare the living daylights out of you." the Satan said jokingly.

In the background, the Marchosias couple resumed their game of footsie.

"I was just doing my job." Archox rebutted, utterly serious.

"And you did a good one," Ravel cut in quickly. "I might have been an assassin or something."

Archox shot Ravel an approving look, and broke into a smile. "No need to jump to my defense dear, Lady Mammon knows that. She was just teasing."

"But if you knew that, then…?"

"Why the serious face?"

"Yes."

"Because Archox likes to tease back by playing serious when he knows I'm not. It's our little game."

"Half the time, we can't tell when they're even playing." Lulu complained.

"Speak for yourself, I can tell just fine." Attie countered and the two began squabbling.

"They never change." Archox commented.

"Well, at least it proves they like you Ravel-chan. Those two only ever squabble like that when they are with company they like and trust." Tohru cut in.

The squabbling continued unabated.

"Tohru, couldn't wait your turn?"

"Nope, Devi-sama. You know how excited I am to meet new people." The specter cheerfully replied.

"Well then-"

"Oh! Devi-sama, can I introduce myself?"

Devi shrugged.

Taking that as an affirmative, Tohru enthusiastically launched into her introduction, "Hiya Ravel-chan! My name is Tohru Honda, a specter. I'm also Devi-sama's head of R&D, so if you have any questions about magic or science just come to me. Especially if it's about Alchemy and Necromancy those are my specialties."

"Sure." Ravel replied uncertainly, probably somewhat unnerved by Tohru's enthusiasm.

"I presume, it's my turn now, My Lady?" Tywin said, looking up from the papers he'd sent the whole meeting looking at so far. Devi wasn't fooled by the act in the slightest, if Tywin didn't want to be here, he wouldn't be. He was just as interested in Ravel as everyone else and the fact he brought his son Tyrion meant maybe more so.

"Go ahead, Tywin."

"I am Lord Tywin Viné, a general in the Lady's armies." With that he turned back to his papers.

"It was nice to meet you." Ravel said anyway.

_She's polite too._ Devi cooed in the safety of her mind.

"I apologize for my Father, Lady Ravel. He's not good with people." Tyrion Viné, Tywin's youngest son and only surviving child spoke in his father's defense. He wore the appearance of a dwarf, with stubby legs, a jutting forehead, mismatched eyes of green and black.

Tyrion failed to see the faintly hurt expression, really just a twitch of his face, on his father's face at his words, but no one else among the Court did. They didn't say anything though. Tywin had asked that his relationship with his son be his own affair and the others respected his wishes.

"As for myself, I'm Tyrion Viné." Tyrion said as he stood up in his chair and gave an exaggerated bow.

"Why are you a dwarf? I mean, we're Devils, we can control our own bodies enough to choose our appearance. So why a dwarf?" Ravel asked curious.

Tyrion shifted his form into that of a dashing young man before answering, "Because I prefer to be underestimated, My Beautiful Lady."

Devi frowned at Tyrion's flirting. Ravel was a little girl, this was wholly inappropriate.

Ravel didn't seem to mind though, as she laughed at Tyrion's antics.

"A shapeshifter wearing an unassuming shape to trick his enemies into underestimating him? Brilliant!" Ravel said as she calmed down.

"I try." Tyrion said as he shifted back into his usual form and sat down.

"Archox, where is Hansel?" Devi cut in quickly before Tyrion could say another word.

"Out in the yards. With Gimli." Archox answered with an amused smile on his face.

_What is he smiling about?_

"That man can't even spend an afternoon away from his boyfriend?" Ellen sneered.

"Like you're one to talk, Ellen. I never see you and Viola apart. At all." Lulu shot back.

"But you don't see me missing out on Court functions just to spend time with my lover, do you?"

"No you just flirt with each other shamelessly during it." Lulu said accusingly while pointing beneath the table where the Ellen and Viola were still playing their game of footsie.

"Lulu, Ellen, stop it. Let's all be civil over lunch shall we?" Devi chided sternly, her eyes narrowed in displeasure at her subjects' behavior. In front of a guest, no less.

"Yes, Devi." "Yes, My Lady."

Satisfied that her people would mind their manners, Devi gestured to a servant waiting in an alcove who sent a signal to a kitchens that caused a rich spread of food to promptly materialize along the table.

As the meal progressed, Devi played close attention to Ravel and how she steadily loosened up in the presence of her Court. Something that pleased her a great deal, she very much wanted her guest to get along with the people she considered her family.

Idly she also noted the types of dishes that Ravel seemed to favor. She made it a point to have the kitchens prepare those more often for the girl.

_Hmm… Maybe I should learn to cook a few of those too? Anything to help make her time with us more comfortable. We owe her that much.  
_

* * *

After lunch, Devi gave Ravel a tour of the palace. The young Phenex was awed by much of it, she confessed that Rize had told her much about the place, just like he had told tales about herself and her Court, but in Ravel's opinion he failed to do them justice.

Devi was incredibly pleased by that compliment.

The two were passing through the training yards when they came across a scene that Ravel found interesting.

Obligingly, Devi stopped.

In the center of the yard, a mock battle was being waged between an army of automatons and a pair of devils. One was a archer on a horse shooting down the machines by the dozens as he guided his steed in riding circles around his slower enemies. The other was a redheaded mountain of a man, he was at least two meters tall, with an truly impressive set of muscles. Dressed in full plate armor, and wielding a wide selection of both melee and throwing axes, he was devastating his mechanical opponents.

"Who are they?" Ravel asked, clearly impressed by the men's demonstration of martial prowess.

"That's Hansel Leraje, Archox's lieutenant, and his boyfriend Gimli Strongaxe." Devi replied a touch coldly.

Ravel still enraptured by the spectacle didn't notice, "Are all your troops this strong?"

"Not really. Hansel is my best marksman and Gimli is one of my greatest warriors, so they are pretty exceptional."

"Then how about your normal troops, where do they train?"

"Why are you suddenly so interested?"

"I've grown up hearing all about the great Mammon and her armies. I just want to see it for myself I guess, now that I have the chance." Ravel confessed with an embarrassed blush.

"Is that so? Then I can't disappoint you, now can I?"

With an indulgent smile, Devi guided her young guest to a balcony overlooking a much larger training yard on which over two hundred devils were training.

"That's Tywin's third company. They are heavy infantry, meant to serve as shock troops and to hold the line against attacks targeting the lighter units." Devi explained. "See how they're layering their barriers to create a more comprehensive one and shifting those barriers to allow their own attacks to get out?"

Ravel nodded. "That's incredible! How do they manage that kind of coordination?"

"Practice. They train every day to improve themselves."

"Could I become that strong one day?" Ravel asked turning to look at the Satan with a hopeful look.

Devi, couldn't help it, she giggled.

When Ravel turned her adorable pout to face her, she broke out in full blown laughter.

So caught up in her laughter, she never noticed the troops below pause in their training to look at their liege first in surprise then in pleasure as they heard her sound genuinely happy. Something that had been a rarity since their exile.

Ignorant to her troops' thoughts, Devi finally calmed herself down and in between giggles explained her behavior, "Sorry Ravel, it's just you're a Phenex."

"What's that have to do with anything." Ravel asked sounding both confused and a little put out, probably thinking that Devi had been laughing at her.

"Everything Ravel. It means that by birth you already have more demonic power than most of the troops down there. Add to that your own natural abilities as a Phenex, all you need is a little training and you'd surpass every last one of them." Devi explained reassuringly.

"Really?"

"Really. Why do you think Devils care so much about our breeding? Unlike humans, it really does affect how powerful we can become."

"Then can I become as powerful as say you?"

Devi winced, she didn't want to disappoint the girl but she didn't want to lie and give her unrealistic expectations either.

"Probably not, since I'm a Super Devil."

Ravel was not upset by that though and instead enthusiastically continued, "What about as powerful as Lord Eligor and the others in your Court then?"

"With the right training, of course."

Ravel smiled a megawatt smile, that made Devi's insides churn pleasantly.

"Will you help me train then?" Ravel asked excitedly.

"Of course, I'll train you personally." Devi said with conviction.

"Personally?" Ravel seemed shocked. "Bu-But I can't possibly ask you to do that."

"No worries, Ravel. I want to do it."

"Th-Thank you then, Devi. And take good care of me." Ravel said with a bow.

"I will. For now though let's head back to the tour. There's still a few more places I need to show you." Devi said as she steered the younger Devil away from the balcony.

"Ok"

"Just curios Ravel, but why do you want to train all of a sudden?"

Ravel was silent for a long while as the two walked back to the heart of the palace, but finally replied, "I need something to do for the next fifty years don't I?"

Devi felt her heart go out to the girl once more. She understood what it meant to be apart from one's family. The Satan resolved to do everything in her power to make Ravel's stay with her as pleasant and distracting as possible, to help her keep the feeling of loss away.

* * *

Forty eight subjective years later, Ravel had settled in nicely in the Land of Greed. She got along well with all the members of Mammon's Court, even the often taciturn and abrasive Tywin. She spent time dutifully training and studying until she became a Master of Wind Magic and able combatant. Such that even the other members of the Court, all legendary veterans of the Great War, acknowledged her as their peer in the martial arts.

She had explored the length and breadth of the Land of Greed, met its people and become beloved by them for putting a constant smile on the face of their Lady.

And therein lay the reason why Devi was pacing Lulu's bedroom seeking her best friend's advice.

"You sure, you don't want Attie here too? She's better at this." Lulu asked her uncharacteristically nervous friend.

_She wasn't this nervous facing down gods and Satans and now faced with a possible romanantic relationship, she's a wreck. Who would've thought?_ Leloucia thought to herself in amusement.

"Yes I'm sure. I already know what Attie will say. It's no secret she's being shipping me and Ravel for years." Devi insisted.

"True." Lulu conceded. "So you said you wanted advice?"

"Yes." Devi said in what was almost a whine.

"About what specifically?" Lulu asked genuinely confused. It was an open secret to anyone with eyes that Ravel and Devi were in love with each other after all.

Devi just shot Lulu a hard look, "You know what."

"I honestly don't." Lulu confessed.

"Must I explain it? Really?" Devi asked sounding exasperated.

"If you want my help, then yes, you do."

Sighing, Devi collapsed onto Leloucia's bed and putting her arm over her eyes, finally explained.

"I'm in love in Ravel." Leloucia nodded, no surprise there.

"And that's a problem how?" Leloucia pressed.

"I shouldn't be!" Devi shouted, as she sat up in the bed and sent Leloucia a look that seemed to ask why she even needed to explain it.

_Devi almost never shouts. Whatever this is about, it's really eating her out from the inside._

"Why not?"

"Because Ravel is centuries younger than me? Because I effectively kidnapped her?" Devi said as she shot off the bed and resumed pacing. "It's incredibly inappropriate."

_I could hit her with the fact that Ravel getting trapped in the time bubble isn't her fault or that Devils have relationships with more of an age difference all the time, but I doubt that'll work. She already knows this, she's just using these things as excuses._

"Inappropriate, really? Do I need to explain to you why that's nonsense?"

Devi stopped her pacing and just collapsed to the floor where she stood, pulling her knees close to her body, before she whispered out a "No."

"Then what's really wrong?"

_Almost there..._

"It's Ravel-"

"What about Ravel?"

"I don't want to spoil what I already have with Ravel by pushing for more." Devi confessed in a quiet voice, barely above a whisper. Almost as if she was scared of even giving voice to this admission.

_Seriously!? Is she_ that _dense?_ Leloucia thought to herself incredulously.

Unaware of her friend's thoughts, Devi continued her explanation. "She makes me happy in a way I haven't been in a very long time and I don't want to lose that."

_Ok. This is ridiculous._

"Stop! Just stop." Leloucia demanded.

"Lulu?"

"Listen here, Devora Mammon. You're being a dense idiot so I'm going to spell this out for you, alright?"

"Spell wha-"

Ignoring Devi, Leloucia ploughed on. " _Ravel is in love with you too_!"

Devi jaw dropped and for a moment, there was only silence in the room.

"What?" Devi said as she recovered the ability to speak.

"It's true, anyone with eyes can see it." Leloucia confessed. "Well, except for her dense object of affection that is."

"Proof. Give me proof." A floundering Devi demanded.

"Proof? How about this? Who does she spend the most time with? You. Who does she flirt with? Only you."

"That's because-" Devi started to rebut before stopping herself as her eyes flew open in realization. "She loves me?"

"Yes." Leloucia said with certainty. "So stop being an idiot and court her already!"

"But why would she?"

"Why not?"

"Well, even if it's not exactly true that I kidnapped her, I still am the reason she's stuck here. If I hadn't built the artifact, she wouldn't be trapped here. Shouldn't she blame me?"

_Not this again._ Lelouica thought to herself as she palmed her face in exasperation.

"I mean it's just like Ellen and Viola, and you know how I feel about that."

_Oh! How could I miss that?_

Ellen and Viola's romance was something that could best be described as messed up. Viola had originally been one of Ellen's victims drawn from the human world to torment in her labyrinths. However, despite Ellen's best efforts Viola always managed to survive the mazes. Ellen should have just killed her by attacking her directly, as skilled at survival as Viola apparently was, a powerless human stood no chance against a devil that was a master of magic. But instead Ellen just began talking to her interesting victim as she used Viola to test out her labyrinths. Eventually, Ellen's 'playing' with Viola had distracted her so much that she started to neglect her duties and Devi had intervened.

Devi had initially wanted to just release Viola but to her shock the human had refused. She insisted on staying by Ellen's side and helping her tormentor overcome her hurts by being her willing victim. Devi couldn't, and still didn't, understand it, but Viola was utterly in love with her own brutal torturer. Put in a bind, Devi had approached Ellen to figure out what was going on. To her confusion, it soon became clear that the love was mutual and that for some sick reason the two seemed to find torturing and being tortured as the ultimate expression of their love.

Armed with this uncomfortable knowledge, Devi had decreed that the two would be allowed to be married. She even helped arrange and cast the ritual that transformed Viola into a devil so the two could be together forever.

While everyone accepted the relationship, they also demanded the couple keep their play firmly to within their own quarters. Walking in on a couple making love was one thing, but to have the couple doing so while one of them was disemboweling the other and the victim actually enjoy it more? That was a level of disturbing that few could stand.

"You do realize you and Ravel are nothing like Ellen and Viola, right? For one, you're not a sadist. And Ravel isn't a masochist." Leloucia said gently.

"I know. But there are parallels between the two situations, and I just can't stop being worried." Devi admitted.

_Hmm… If she saw the parallels then she wasn't blind to Ravel's attraction, just deliberately ignoring it._

"Worried about what? That Ravel will end up crazy like Viola? If it's any consolation, Viola is pretty normal for a psycho most of the time." Leloucia joked.

Devi giggled a little. "True. But, what I'm worried about is Ravel becoming what _I_ want like Viola did for Ellen."

"Devi, for better or worse, it's too late to worry about that. Ravel has been with us for forty eight years already, and she's changed a great deal then. Grown stronger, become more mature and independent. She's not the little girl she was when she arrived. If part of that involved shaping herself into your ideal woman, then well, it's already happened."

"I know, but can I have a relationship with someone that I groomed into my perfect partner? It just sounds wrong."

"That you might or might not have groomed. There's no proof either way."

Devi had no reply.

After five minutes of silence, Leloucia spoke up, "Devi. In the end, I think the only thing that matters here is whether you want to let this chance go. You and Ravel love each other, and have a very real chance of happiness with each other. Are you going to let this chance go because of your fears?"

For another long moment, there was silence until Devi stood up suddenly radiating her usual confidence and stalked towards the door, barely remembering to thank her friend as she walked off.

* * *

Ravel was having a good day. She had just finished a spar with Archox and while she had still lost in the end, she'd managed to last a full minute longer against him then the last time they fought. It was a major accomplishment for her.

As she entered the changing room for the training yard with the intention of catching a shower, she mused that the only way this day could be better was if the love of her life chose to come spend some time with her. Unfortunately, Devi was spending time today with Leloucia, the two best friends spending time together like they did as children. Though Ravel did find it odd that Atlan was excluded from that.

The young daughter of Phenex was distracted from her thoughts when she saw who else was in the changing room: Devi was there, apparently waiting for her. She idly wondered what for, but quickly dismissed it as unimportant. In the end, no matter the reason, spending time with the woman she'd come to love always made her happy. Even if it meant touring the disgusting sewers to check up on the sanitation crews.

"Devi, what are you doing he-"

Ravel never got to finish her question before Devi answered by pulling her into an embrace and kissing her soundly. Ravel melted into the kiss, for a moment losing all coherent thought. She only recovered when Devi began to pull away but only enough to close the distance again and extend the kiss.

The two Devils stood there kissing for what felt to them like an eternity, but was really just a few minutes, before they pulled apart.

"Devi, what was that for?" Ravel asked, flushed and breathless.

"It was my way of saying that I love you and I want to be your lover." Devi said seriously, without a hint of self-consciousness.

_How can she say that and not even get a little embarrassed?_ Ravel idly wondered.

"Do you accept?" Devi asked, this time sounding unsure.

_Oh! She was putting up a brave front!_

"I kissed you back didn't I?" Ravel said with a smirk, "Isn't that answer enough?"

Devi smiled and leaned in for another kiss, her answer to Ravel's question, and the daughter of Phenex was happy to oblige.

* * *

As the bubble of compressed time that surrounded the Land of Greed started to break down, its ruling couple were frantically getting ready for the ceremony to mark the occasion. Though they was really just a secondary concern for Ravel. To her what they planned to do immediately afterwards was far more important.

She was going to see her family for the first time in fifty years.

It was thus no surprise that Ravel was running around the quarters she shared with her wife, trying to find the perfect outfit to wear for the all important meeting.

For her part, Devi was sitting on the sofa in their living room waiting patiently for the start of the ceremony to commemorate the Land of Greed once more sharing the same sense of time as the rest of the world. That and being thoroughly entertained by her wife's antics and happily ogling her in the numerous outfits she seemed determined to try on.

"Devi, how about this one?" Ravel asked as she came out of her walk-in closet wearing a light purple dress with dark purple accents and a blue bow at the front with three feather-like extensions mimicking a bird's tail protrude from the back.

"It looks beautiful. You look beautiful." Devi said honestly.

"That's what you said about the last dozen outfits too." Ravel said exasperatedly.

"Because it's the truth."

Ravel sighed, obviously her wife was going to be no help with her outfit. At least, Devi had bothered to wear something more fancy than her normal dresses. Sure they made her look elegant and beautiful, but they were going to meet her parents and that deserved something more. So Ravel was pleasantly surprised when Devi had gotten dressed in a elaborate ball gown that made her look like the empress she was.

The consort of Mammon was about to head back into her closet to try and find a better dress, when her wife stopped her. "Seriously Ravel, I think that dress is perfect. So stop fretting about your clothes and come sit down and relax with me for a while."

"But-"

"Ravel. Your family isn't going to care what you wear when you show up. To them you've been missing for a whole year, they'll be happy to see you even if you showed up in rags." Devi overruled Ravel's unspoken objection, correctly surmising that Ravel was far more concerned with _that_ than the upcoming ceremony.

With another sigh, Ravel conceded the point. "I know, but this isn't just a reunion with them, it's also me introducing you to them. I want it to be perfect."

"Considering the circumstances, there's no way it'll be perfect."

"I know. But I want it to be as close to that as possible." Ravel said as sat down next to Devi.

"Well, then we best not explain the whole time compression thing." Devi offered, "It'll just confuse everyone."

"You think?" Ravel asked sarcastically. "They'll never understand it. I've had you and Tohru explain it to me a dozen times and I still don't."

"What's there not to get?" Devi asked curiously.

"Why fifty years for one? You said you just activated the artifact to dilate time for a few minutes as part of a test, so why did it compress time by fifty times? Why not twice or hundred times?" Ravel asked her most burning question about the topic, playing along with Devi's attempt to distract her.

"Well, I won't bore you with the mechanics of how the time dilation works, but suffice it to say that fifty times was the preprogrammed, hardwired limit for the artifact. So when the artifact overloaded when it reacted to your teleportation in, it released its charge at its maximum output and exploded, releasing the rest of the excess energy that way instead."

"So its maximum charge let it create a bubble of altered time that lasts a year?"

"Yes, that's the other limit we built into the artifact."

Ravel was about to ask another question when Leloucia rolled into the room, spotting the couple she shot them a pleased smile before saying, "Devi, Ravel, the ceremony is about to start."

"You ready, love?" Devi said as she stood up from the sofa, gently pulling Ravel up with her.

"As I'll ever be." Ravel offered in return.

"Don't worry, Ravel, I sure everything with your parents will go fine." Leloucia offered reassuringly, even as she waved her hand and conjured a magic circle to transport all three of them to the throne room for the ceremony.

Devi gave Ravel's hand a reassuring squeeze and escorted her through the circle.

Ravel squeezed back and steeled herself, she wasn't going to look like a nervous wreck either in front of her people or her family.

Even if the idea of reuniting with the latter again after so long, and with her wife in tow, sent butterflies aflutter in her stomach.

* * *

Riser Phenex, youngest son of the Phenex Clan had been having a bad day so far, no make that a bad year.

Everything had been terrible for him since his littler sister, Ravel, had gone missing.

He and the rest of the family had searched the length and breadth of the world for her, putting everything else on hold, but had found not a single trace.

He had just returned from one such futile trip to the remotest reaches of the Amazon in the mortal world, hunting down a seer in the hopes of getting advice and was just reporting his findings - the seer had only said one word to him when he'd found him, "Soon" - to his mother when he heard a commotion coming from the entrance hall of the manor.

_What's the racket? Intruders? There isn't the sound of a fight though. Better be safe than sorry though._

Gathering his Peerage he marched towards the commotion to see what it was about.

What he found there turned this whole day around, for there standing in the middle of a circle of celebrating staff and guards was none other than his sister.

"Ravel!" Riser heard Yubelluna, his Queen, gasp from his side, but he ignored her.

Instead, he rushed down the stairs pushing through the crowd, too busy celebrating to know who he was, and embraced Ravel.

Or he would have if a woman didn't just step into his way and glared daggers at him.

"Let Ravel breathe. I know you're excited to see your sister, but Ravel has already been overwhelmed by your staff's welcome." The strange woman said.

Before Riser could respond, or even decide how to do so, Ravel poked her head around the woman and spotted him.

"Big Brother Riser!" Ravel said as she happily sprinted around the woman and threw herself into his arms. "Oh! How I missed you."

Riser just hugged his little sister tight. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

"Ravel?" The voice of his mother pulled him out of his revelry. "Ravel!"

Putting his sister down, he watched with happy tears in his eyes as she rushed into their mother's arms.

"Hmm… Ravel's almost as happy now as when we got married." The strange woman said from beside him.

Riser's brain short circuited at what he heard.

_I couldn't have heard that right. Ravel married?_

"What did you say?" Riser said as flames burst into being around his fists.

"I-" The woman began but Riser interrupted her by grabbing the front of her dress and lifting her off the floor. He was so caught up in his rage, that he didn't even notice that his flames left her dress unharmed.

"Did you just say you took advantage of my little sister and forced her to marry you!?" Riser demanded.

The woman just blinked, as if in surprise.

Riser wanted to shake an answer out of her, but was preempted when a torrent of wind slammed into him from the side.

"Riser! What do you think you're doing to my wife!" Ravel screamed at him as she rushed to the mysterious woman's side to check if she was alright.

"Wife?" "Lady Ravel got married?" "She eloped?"

The Phenex Clan's gathered retainers exploded into a confused murmur.

Riser pulled himself into a sitting position against the wall that his sister's attack had sent him crashing into. His Peerage rushing to his side to check on him and to take up a guard around him in case he was attacked again.

"Ravel, you got married?" Riser heard his mother ask as he pushed through his reluctant Peerage.

"Yes, this is my wife-" Ravel's introduction was interrupted by a new voice, that of their Father. Someone had obviously informed him that Ravel was back and he'd rushed back to see her.

"Ravel!" Rize Phenex shouted as he rushed out from the magic circle that had just deposited him in the manor to embrace his returned daughter.

"Father!" Ravel greeted happily as she returned the embrace.

Riser walked towards his father, intending to inform him of about what the woman had done to Ravel, when the woman spoke up.

"Greetings, Rize. It's good to see you again after so long."

Riser froze. _The woman knows father?_

* * *

Rize Phenex like his son froze, but his surprise was for very different reasons. He recognized that voice. It was a voice he'd thought that he would never have the privilege to hear again but it was one he would never forget.

Daring to hope for the first time in centuries, Rize looked up at the source of the voice and he felt his heart leap with joy for the second time that day.

For he was looking upon the face of a woman he thought he would never see again. A heroine he owed so much to.

He looked upon the face of Devora Mammon.

Releasing his miraculously returned daughter from his hug, he promptly fell to one knee in respect.

Around him he heard his household gasp in surprise, he ignored their surprise and ordered, "All of you. Kneel."

For a moment there was stunned silence, before slowly in ones and twos, everyone knelt, even his mutinous looking son. All except Ravel, who instead walked over to the Satan's side.

_What?_

"All of you raise." Satan Mammon ordered and Rize rose, his men following suit.

Letting out a sigh, "Was that really necessary Rize?"

"For you, My Lady? Most definitely." Rize replied honestly.

"Rize, who is this woman?" Lady Phenex whispered as she came to Rize's side.

Ravel broke into giggles at the question, which earned her a fond look from the Satan.

_What's their relationship? They almost seem like lovers._

Putting those fanciful thoughts aside for the moment, Rize answered his wife and no doubt everyone else, "This my dear, is the Satan Devora Mammon."

Shocked gasps filled the whole room and Rize saw Riser pale.

"And this, though she needs no introduction, is my _wife_ , Ravel Mammon nee Phenex." The Lost Satan announced.

Rize just looked at his daughter in shock at the revelation. In turn, she just shot him a satisfied smile.

* * *

After their rather dramatic entrance, Devi and Ravel had decided to stay with the Phenexs for a week. Devi had originally intended to only stay for a couple days, but was persuaded to extend their stay due to Rize's hospitality and Ravel's utterly devastating pout.

In hindsight, Devi was quite pleased to have agreed. The week had been a great break from her duties as ruler of the Land of Greed, and it was also a chance to get to know her in-laws. Rize she had known from the Great War of course, but his wife and sons she had only heard about. Spending time with them had reminded her of what it had been like when her family was whole all those long centuries ago. It was a wonderful experience that Devi would cherish forever, and hope to enjoy again when she visited.

Today was the last day of their visit, and Devi was sitting down with Rize to have some drinks while Ravel spent some time with her brothers before it was time to leave.

"As you asked me to My Lady, I've spoken to all my contacts. But no one has heard anything more than what you've told me about this Chaos Brigade." Rize apologized as he passed Devi a glass of whiskey.

"It's alright, Rize," Devi replied with a frown. "I expected as much, these servants of Ophis are proving quite good at information security."

"Indeed." Rize agreed. "Though are you sure they are the army the Infinite Dragon God was supposedly raising?"

"Atlan is sure." Devi confirmed.

Rize winced. "If Atlan Furfur, the great spymaster, is sure than it must be true." Rize took a drink of his whiskey. "This is going to be messy."

"War always is." Devi said before taking a drink from her glass.

"Indeed." Rize agreed, "Is the prospect of war why you asked me to keep your return from exile a secret?"

"Partly. Mainly though it is because I just don't want the attention. These overtures from the Chaos Brigade to join them that Lulu has been telling me have been arriving at [Spiral Urbis Opes] since I lifted the barrier over my lands are annoying enough." Devi said with distaste. "If I revealed I was dealing with the outside world again, I can only imagine the amount of nuisance I'd have to deal with."

Rize laughed at that. "Who would have thought that the mighty Lost Satan would shy away from attention?"

"I sent two centuries in exile, cut off from the rest of the world. Who can't link that to the idea that I want to be left alone is an idiot." Devi shot back.

"You do realize you'll be found out eventually, right?"

"Certainly. But I'd like to delay that date for as long as possible. Honestly, I'm very surprised I've managed to maintain my anonymity for long as I already have."

"My people would never betray your confidence, My Lady." Rize said with surety.

"Of that I have no doubt. After all, thanks to your stories about me, they now seem to think I'm some kind of savior to Devilkind." Devi said with a teasing smile.

"But you are." Rize insisted. "After all, it was your defection and slaying of Belphegor and Abaddon that tipped the balance in the favor of the New Satans and allowed us to liberate ourselves from the cruel rule of the Old Satans."

"That's not how most people see it." Devi replied with a bittersweet smile.

"Then they are fools."

"Back on topic," Devi said hastily, she wasn't particularly comfortable talking about how the common Devils thought of her. "It's not your people I'm worried about. It's the dozens of common Devils that don't work for you or your family that I've run across while here. The shopkeepers in town when I took Ravel shopping, the average citizens, and so on. Surely some of those will recognize me and spread the word."

"That is a possibility. But a remote one, after all thanks to the Old Satans' campaign to destroy all record of you from our histories after your defection, few if any images of you are still in circulation. And few people have seen any of those that are. I doubt many, if anyone, of the common folk recognized you."

"Maybe. Either way there's nothing we can do about it, so let's just wait and see and deal with the aftermath."

Rize nodded and offered Devi a top-up for her just finished glass.

Before she could accept however, Ravel burst into the room.

"Devi, you ready to go?"

Looking apologetically at her father-in-law, Devi put her glass down and turned to Ravel. "What's the sudden rush?"

Devi's answer came from Ravel's eldest brother, Ruval, shouting from down the corridor, "Get back here Ravel! I want a rematch!"

"Quick! Before Big Brother Ruval gets here, or we'll be stuck here forever."

Sighing in exasperation, Devi turned back to Rize, "Goodbye, Father-in-law."

Rize just waved them goodbye even as he smirked at his daughter's shenanigans.

"Bye Father!" Ravel chirped as Devi snapped her fingers causing a magic circle to appear below the couple and teleport them away.

* * *

As the Mammons appeared in the designated arrival point in their palace in [Spiral Urbis Opes], a corner of the main gardens what was surrounded by walls that could be manned to either turn it into a choke point for incoming invaders or to facilitate its defense as an escape route, Devi turned to ask Ravel why she was running from Ruval.

"Because I beat him a spar and he was a sore loser again." Ravel explained as they strolled towards their apartments arm in arm.

"Well, it's been like that all week hasn't it? You beat him and he demands a rematch until he's too tired to continue. You knew he would behave like that, so why accept a spar with him just before we were supposed to leave?"

"I was sparing with Big Brother Riser, but he subbed out and Big Brother Ruval took his place."

"Couldn't you have declined?"

"If I did, he'd have called me a coward."

"Well that's brothers for you. I still rememb-" Devi's reply was cut off by Atlan running out to meet them at the gates to the pyramid that served as the palace's main building.

"Attie? What's the matter?"

"Devi, I have some very grave news." Attie explained nervously.

"About what?" Ravel asked cautiously.

"About _that man_." The spymaster explained.

Devi froze, and her voice was all cold fury as she asked, "Rizevim?"

"Yes."

Ravel looked at Devi worriedly, no surprise, her wife had never seen her so angry before.

"What about him?" Her voice still colder than the coldest arctic blizzards.

"My contacts just informed me that he's part of the Chaos Brigade." Atlan revealed.

* * *

**AN:**

**So with this chapter we've caught up roughly to the start of DxD canon. Expect to see some canon events appearing in-story from now on. Of course, with Devi around they'll likely, but not definitely, be quite different from canon. I'm personally of the opinion that wherever possible canon should be respected when writing a fanfic, so unless there's a good reason don't expect something completely different in any canon scenes that do make an appearance.**

**Another thing, so this fic is a yuri Devi/Ravel fic [for now, this is DxD after all, and most people should know what that means]. However, as someone in another fic I collaborate on once noted, it's kinda strange to only have lesbians and no gays, so I made Hansel gay and have a boyfriend named Gimli. They are likely to be the only gays in this fic though, I'm too much of a heterosexual man [for whom thinking lesbians are hot is normal] to give equal opportunity for gays in my fic too much thought. So Hansel/Gimli are the token gay couple, live with it. That's still better than DxD canon.**

**A last thing I wanted to talk about is Ellen/Viola, namely how seriously crazy both they and their relationship are. As shown in-story it's so bad that even the other devils are uncomfortable about it. Why did I include it then? Well… Two reasons. One, because I ship Ellen/Viola in Witch's House and want to see it happen but realize it can only happen in a sick, twisted way like it takes place in this fic. Two, because in accordance to myth, Devils are supposed to be horribly twisted creatures. In DxD, it's explicitly stated that this was to at least some extent true at least under the Old Satans. Yet, even the worse Devils under the new regime aren't** _ **that**_ **bad, and I don't think a regime change can account for such a radical change in behavior. So where does the bad reputation come from? My guess is that it was due to deviant Devils like Ellen combined with the Old Satans playing it up as part of their psychological warfare. Having Ellen be the way she is in this fic is to account for this.**

**Ok that's it I think.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	3. The Old and the New

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Old and the New**

"Rizevim is part of the Chaos Brigade?" Devi pressed for confirmation.

"Yes, I've triple checked." Atlan replied with a nod.

Devi seethed quietly for a moment as she pondered what to do with this information. Ravel in the meantime was asking Atlan for details, "You're talking about Rizevim Lucifer, aren't you? The devil that Devi worked as her handler back when she worked for the Old Satans?"

"Yes, Ravel." Atlan affirmed. "And also one of the beings that Devi hates most in the world."

"Wasn't he dead? Didn't he succumb to the wounds he got from fighting Devi when she left the Old Satans?"

"We had hoped so. He'd dropped off the radar for centuries, so we thought he might have. But we were wrong." Atlan explained, sounding very disappointed about having to do so.

"Then we'll just have to rectify that." Devi firmly declared, her eyes consumed by the black of the void as her power primed in response to her anger. "That man is too dangerous to allow to live."

"Of course, Devi." Atlan said immediately, understanding that for Devi that was never in question. "But what about the rest of the Chaos Brigade. They're the Infinite Dragon God's subordinates. Making an enemy of them-"

"Is something we'll have to live with. All allies of Rizevim are our enemies." Devi said with authority.

"Isn't that a little risky?" Ravel fretted. "Couldn't we work out some kind of deal with them instead?"

"I doubt it, Ravel." Altan replied. "We might, and I stress _might_ , be able to work something out with them. But there's not much we can offer them that Rizevim cannot. He's a Super Devil and, I'd imagine, leader of the Old Satan remnants, so in terms of personal power and overall military might we're about equal."

"Isn't Devi stronger? She beat him in the past, didn't she?" Ravel reasoned.

"That was two centuries ago to them, dear. They'll reason that things have changed since then." Devi explained.

"Oh!" Ravel muttered in frustrated realization.

"Even if that wasn't the case, I wouldn't stoop to such a thing. Anyone foolish enough to ally themselves with that man are my enemies, pure and simple." The Satan concluded definitively.

"You're sure about this, My Satan?"

"Absolutely Attie. Spread the word, Chaos Brigade is our enemy." Devi said with finality as she walked off, Ravel following suit, their arms linked.

"I hear and obey." The spymaster said with a bow to the back of her departing liege.

* * *

In an undisclosed location in the mountains of Japan, there was a terrible prison known as the [Jigoku no mon] or [Hell's Gate]. It was a well-like structure that extended far into the depths of the Earth, and was guarded by some of the best supernatural mercenaries money could buy and was protected by all manner of both mundane and magical protections to prevent both intrusion and escape. The only thing that this prison lacked was any electronics, instead it relied on purely mechanical technology and magic as a precaution against its prisoners.

With such extensive security, one might think that these prisoners were some of the most dangerous people on the planet. This assumption was both right and wrong.

The only two prisoners of [Hell's Gate] were incredibly dangerous in terms of their power, for they were arguably the most powerful espers alive. They were a set of identical twins, Iwakura Alice and Lain, who shared the abilities - as often is the case with twin espers, both sisters could readily make use of the other's ability - of telepathy and technopathy. The girls were so powerful that it was no exaggeration to say that they could control almost any organic and electronic mind, often extending their organic control via electronic means like radio transmissions or the internet. It was this latter aspect of their powers that had led to their prison's lack of electronic equipment, just as their telepathy and the mind control it allowed had led to its guards being made up of resistant supernatural beings.

Despite the inherent danger beings with such powers were to others, the twins were in truth no threat to anyone. They simply didn't have the drive for it. The Iwakuras had originally been kidnapped as toddlers by a Japanese black ops esper unit to be trained as assets. However, the twins' powers had quickly grown beyond their ability to control and for the safety of all involved, the two were sealed away in an isolated location where their powers would not be a danger: their prison, the [Jigoku no mon]. At first, the arrangement had been meant to be temporary, as their superiors held onto the hope that the girls could be trained to control their powers and eventually be put into the field but as that proved impossible they were instead kept alive as a strategic WMD deterrent, and also - though the Japanese would be loathe to admit it - because they seriously doubted they had the means _to_ kill them

The twins had been trapped in the pit that was [Hell's Gate] for ten years, since they were eight. This prolonged isolation from the outside world - they were not allowed visitors or news from the outside world and their guards only interacted with them from the top of the prison's pit, using spells to communicate and send them supplies - and their own telepathy - which they could not turn off - had changed the girls. It had caused their individual identities to gradually fade away, causing them to over time become one being in two bodies.

In spite of all this, the girls did not begrudge their circumstances. They understood that their powers were dangerous, and why their superiors had felt it necessary to lock them away. How could they not? They after all could read their minds. For even though, the Japanese had done everything in their power to prevent the girls' power from reaching beyond their prison, it was ultimately futile. While the wards had greatly limited the range of their ability to dominate other minds, reducing it from about ten kilometres down to a mere one. It had not however affected their ability to read minds, the range of which was global. In fact, the girls were perfectly capable of walking out of the [Jigoku no mon] if they so wanted to. Thanks to their powers, they knew the layout of every defense, every method to get pass them safely, and were powerful enough to dominate the minds of the even the resistant, but not immune, guards.

As such, the only thing really keeping the Iwakuras in their prison were their own lack of a desire to leave.

Not that their jailers knew that.

While the Iwakuras were disinclined to leave, that did not mean that they were not bored with their lot. Being trapped in a spartan prison in absolute isolation was not the most entertaining way to live after all. To alleviate this boredom, the twins had resorted to using their power to spy on the outside world through the minds of others.

During this, they had come across a number of minds that were wholly blocked to them. The discovery of which had initially thrilled them, as they hoped these beings could somehow help them by teaching them to control their powers. As such they impulsively called out to these beings, in the hope that at least one of them would hear them and come to their aid.

Unfortunately, none came. From the minds of those around said blocked minds, these gods, great demons and mighty devils either had defenses so thick they didn't hear them or were too busy with their plans to care about an anonymous mental cry for help from the middle of nowhere.

The Iwakuras still held out hope though, and each time they sensed a blocked mind, they called out for help.

One day, a few days after their eighteenth birthday, their perseverance was rewarded.

* * *

_A new blocked mind!_ The gestalt creature of Iwakura Lain and Alice made out of an identical pair of teenagers with short, brown, asymmetrical hair, one lock of which was secured by a hair clip - on the right for one body and the left for the other - cheered. _Let's contact it! Maybe this one will help us._

Quickly, the twins sent a burst of information about their predicament out to the new mind, even as they absently read the mind of its companion to determine who it was.

_Oh! A Satan! One of the leaders of the Devils. We've never sensed one of those before. What's this?_ The Iwakuras paused as a new piece of information caught their eye. _We're reading the mind of her wife? Oh, better stop. Don't want to upset before she can help us._

Pulling their attention away the Satan's wife's, Ravel Phenex's, mind they focused on something else. They might not be able to stop reading her mind entirely, but they could certainly not pay attention to what their power read there. As such, they took to doing some spring cleaning of their rather spartan prison while they waited for the hoped for response from the Satan.

While their jail was spartan in terms of furniture, there were only the bare essentials, it was still quite large for two people, being about 120 square metres. As such it could, if they were smart and dragged it out, take them a whole day to finish cleaning. It was thus the perfect distraction.

Not that it seemed to be necessary, as they had barely began when a reply came their way, _I'm coming!_

The Iwakuras froze in shock. They had hoped that the Satan Mammon would help them of course, but had expected she wouldn't. No one else had.

The twin bodies of the Iwakuras exchanged disbelieving looks. _Is this really happening?_

Their doubts were assuaged though when their cell shook as if the area had been hit by a violent earthquake.

_That was the wards collapsing._ The girls noted in shock as they watched through the eyes of their prison's guards as the Satan Mammon and her wife tore through some of the most powerful wards in the world as if they were nothing.

The couple just as easily took care of the guards as they flew in through the disintegrating remains of the force fields that the wards once maintained. The Devil monarch's consort with her wings of fire rained down immense fireballs and conjured tornadoes, some of them flaming, on the outmatched guards. In the meantime, the Satan herself with her twenty wings majestically spread, bombarded everything potentially hostile in sight with a barrage of what the mind of one of the more learned guards supplied were missiles of pure void! Within minutes, a hundred of the finest supernatural mercenaries in the world were dead or dying.

_What power!_ The Iwakuras gasped in awe.

_It wasn't that impressive._ The amused mental voice of the Satan transmitted in response.

The Iwakuras startled, they hadn't been expecting a reply.

_I would hope not. After all, few people expect one to a rhetorical statement._

_Is this what it feels like to have our mind read?_ The twins replied even as they marveled at the novelty of the experience.

_Pretty much. Not used to it?_

_Yes. We haven't had our mind read since we became one._ The espers admitted.

Suddenly the living room wall in front of the teenagers were engulfed by a black sphere which faded quickly to reveal a massive hole to the outside. A hole through which they could see the two Devils hovering in the air.

"Is that so?" Mammon-sama said, continuing from their earlier telepathic conversation. "That was five years ago, correct?"

"Yes." The twins replied verbally. Or at least they tried to, for after years of disuse their voices came out as little more than croaks. Embarrassed that they were making a fool of themselves in front of their saviors they couldn't help but blush.

"No need to respond verbally, just use telepathy for now." The Satan replied kindly, as she flew through the hole she'd created, landed in the living room of the twins' cell and dismissed her wings, her giggling wife following suit behind her.

_Thank you. We haven't talked outside of our minds in years._

"We understand, don't worry about it." Phenex-sama replied sincerely.

Her speaking up drew the twins' attention to a fact that they had overlooked until now.

_We can't read your mind anymore! Why? How?_ The twins sent to Phenex-sama.

"Devi threw up a ward for me after we sensed you were reading my mind. Not that we blame you for that, we know you can't control your power."

"And we thank you for being courteous enough to not pay attention to Ravel's thoughts after your first brief look."

The Iwakuras blushed harder as they deflected the thanks. _It was nothing. It was the polite thing to do._

"Nevertheless, thank you." Phenex-sama said with a smile.

"So onto the main reason why we're here," Mammon-sama said, "though perhaps we should sit down first."

_Oh! Sorry! We totally forgot!_

"Don't worry about it, considering the circumstances it's totally understandable." Phenex-sama waved their apology away as took a seat on the sofa.

_Still, to be such poor hostesses to our saviors…_ The twins paused as they remembered one important detail. _OH NO! We haven't even thanked you two yet._

The devils, now both seated on the sofa, broke into giggles at that.

"Don't thank us yet. We haven't solved your problem, we've just killed a bunch of people keeping you prisoner, something you could do on your own if you wanted." Mammon-sama said as she shot up to grab the twins' shoulders to stop them from prostrating themselves in thanks.

_But you are going to, aren't you?_

"Yes, but save your thanks for _after_ we've done the job." Phenex-sama said teasingly, even as Mammon-sama nodded seriously along.

The twins didn't understand what the difference was but went along with it since it was what their saviors wanted. _Right._

"Good, now why don't you two sit down and I'll explain the ways I can help you."

The twins complied with the Satan's request and sat down on the floor. Mammon-sama looked a little perturbed by this but a look from Phenex-sama, had her sighing and joining her wife on the sofa.

"So as I was saying, I have a number of ways to help the two of you." Excitement bubbled up in the twins almost to bursting at hearing this, but they restrained themselves. They needed to hear what Mammon-sama had to say. "First, I can equip you two with a set of limiters for your powers, they are easy enough to build though tuning them to your power instead of demonic power or magic might take a while. Then train you to master your powers, having the limiters should help with that. Once you have your powers under control, I can help you build a life here in the mortal world. Of course I'll make sure that everything is done to accommodate your unique sense of identity."

The twins' excitement dimmed a little at that option. The idea of having their power under control appealed to them a great deal, especially since Mammon-sama was going so far as to make allowances to help them keep their gestalt nature. However, the idea of living in the mortal world, a place they knew from both personal experience and the minds they'd read would never truly welcome them was not a prospect they looked forward to.

"From the way your mood shifted, I guess that doesn't appeal to you?"

_Is there a way to not stay in the mortal world? We don't like it here, we don't feel like we belong._

"Well, there's the second option." Mammon-sama said nervously. "After you master your powers, you could stay with me and my Court in the Underworld."

_Really? We'd like that!_ The twins replied enthusiastically.

"You're sure? The Underworld isn't exactly a place for humans, even exceptional ones like you."

_We're sure. It can't be worse than the mortal world, especially not if we're under your protection, Mammon-sama._

Mammon-sama still seemed unsure. but Phenex -sama grabbed her shoulder and when she turned to face her, the two shared a short wordless conversation that left Mammon-sama sighing.

"Alright then. If that's the case, then that's what we'll do."

The Iwakuras jumped up and embraced each other as they cheered, much to the amusement of their new sovereigns.

"Oh, before we help you start packing, one question." Mammon-sama asked once the espers finally calmed down.

_Yes, Mammon-sama?_

"Do you two know anything about the whereabouts of a Devil named Rizevim Lucifer?"

* * *

The Iwakuras had indeed known a great deal about Rizevim's movements. They might not have been able to read his mind, but they could read those of many of his associates and thus had proven a treasure trove of intelligence for Devi on her hated enemy and the rest of the Chaos Brigade.

Unfortunately, there was just so much information that singling out what was important was proving difficult and time-consuming. That said, the twins were determined to help and so were now spending hours everyday with Atlan going over everything that they knew. This despite their rather hectic schedule since arriving in the Land of Greed, what with their power training, tests with the R&D department to work on their limiters, and a whole host of other things.

That they the twins were so determined to be of help to her warmed Devi's heart even as it stoked her anger at the humans who had so mistreated them in the past. Which was why she had ordered Atlan to discretely have said humans, the twins' former superiors, quietly disposed of.

It wouldn't give the girls their lives back, but it helped cool Devi's anger.

It also did a great job in distracting her from her growing frustration at being unable to find Rizevim. She had exhausted all of Atlan's original leads as to his whereabouts, and so was now resigned to waiting for something new to come out of the Iwakuras' debrief.

But the distracting satisfaction of getting revenge for the twins was quickly fading, and she needed something new to divert her attention. That was why she was now at Phenex Manor under a powerful glamour attending the party celebrating the engagement of Ravel's brother, Riser, and a clearly unwilling Rias Gremory.

When Ravel had received the invitation to the party, she'd first been gobsmacked. She'd known about the arrangement between the two of course, but she was certain that it would have never reached anywhere near this stage. After all, it was no secret that the Gremory girl was very unwilling.

This shock gave way to fury though when Ravel learned from Attie the details of how things had led to the unwilling Gremory going along with the engagement. Apparently, Riser had refused to accept her rejection and chose instead to force the issue through the use of a Rating Game, a battle between their two retinues. One which despite a valiant effort by Gremory and her servants, Riser eventually won. Ravel, and to Devi as well, felt infuriated at the fact that Riser had refused to take 'no' for an answer but were even more more incensed when he then tried to use violence - albeit via a mock battle - to force his way.

It was to make this displeasure known to their misogynistic ass of a brother that the Mammons had decided to attend the party. Under heavy glamours of course, the event was after all filled with many of Devilkind's elite - including no less than the Satan, Sirzechs Lucifer, himself. Though since he was Gremory's brother, that was no surprise. - and Devi didn't want to have it known that she'd ended her self-imposed exile yet. Not when the hunt for Rizevim was still on. If he thought she was still refusing to interact with the outside world, it might give her, however slight, an added advantage against the sly snake.

Unfortunately, this made their primary aim for coming to the party quite difficult. As while their invitation had informed the guards at the entrance exactly who they were thus allowing them entry, the glamours meant that the guests just assumed they were a pair of random unimportant guests. A state of affairs that was leaving Ravel seething.

"Damn these glamours." The daughter of Phenex hissed angrily. "I know we need them, but if not for them I'd have been able to wring Riser's idiotic neck by now."

"You sure that's all that has you so upset?" Devi teased. "And not how the guests repeatedly treat us like we're beneath them because they think we're nobody important?"

"That too!" Ravel snapped. "Those fools are arrogant pricks."

Devi just smiled, "And we wouldn't do the same thing if we were in the same situation as them?"

"Of course not! We don't treat even the commoners back home like that, much less our nobles."

Devi had to concede that. In the Land of Greed, while the class divide remained, treatment across class lines were a lot friendlier than most other Devil's domains. She would tolerate no less.

"True, dear, but enough complaining. Let's go get a drink. We can wait to give Riser a piece of our minds until-" Devi paused as she sensed a fight in the corridor outside the ballroom where the party was being held.

Ravel must have sensed the same, as she fell into a relaxed fighting stance.

Just then, the doors to the ballroom burst open and a young Devil strode in clearly ready for battle.

_That's the Boosted Gear,_ Devi noted the boy's Sacred Gear, _So he must be the current Red Dragon Emperor. He's part of Gremory's retinue isn't he?_

A minor fight broke out then as the Phenex household guards moved to restrain the boy, only to be intercepted by the rest of Gremory's retinue.

_What's going on here?_ Devi wondered absently as she casually dodged the body of one of the Phenex guardsman who had been thrown in her direction.

She turned to make sure the Devil was alright when she sensed a stray attack headed her way and instinctively raised a barrier of void energy. _Well damn! There goes my glamour!_

Already she could hear people in the crowd murmuring her name.

Though at that moment, that was not the most immediate of her problems as the unprovoked attack, unintentional as it was, against her seemed to have snapped Ravel's patience for the evening.

"Enough!" Her wife shouted over the din of the brawl, even as she spread her wings and primed her power, shattering her glamour in the process. "You boy! Stop this madness now! This is my family's home and I'll not allow you to make a mess of it."

The party's guests gasped out Ravel's name. _There goes Ravel's anonymity._

The boy however seemed more focused on what Ravel had said than who she was and instead foolishly attacked Ravel crying that, "I'm not stopping until I rescue the Club President!"

Devi wasn't about to let anyone attack her wife though and stepped in front of the punch, grabbing the boy's fist with one hand.

"You'll not touch my wife, Red Dragon Emperor." Devi warned coldly.

Her declaration that Ravel was her wife seemed to send a wave of shock through the crowd but the boy was unaffected and ignored her warning too, choosing to attack with a cry of "Dragon Shot!" which launched a energy blast from the Boosted Gear right into her face.

"Devi!" Ravel cried out.

"You'll have to do better than that, little dragon." Devi said as the she stared down the boy utterly unscathed by the attack.

"Wha-" The boy managed before the Satan slammed the palm of her free hand into his stomach and sent him flying into a wall.

"Issei!" Gremory cried out worriedly, as she and her servants rushed to the boy's side.

Devi just turned to Ravel with a raised brow, who just crossed her arms. "You know I was at wit's end."

Devi just sighed.

"So you got married." Sirzechs Lucifer said with a smile as he came up to the Mammons. "And decided to rejoin the rest of the world."

Ravel and her family tensed at the Lucifer coming up to her, but Devi discretely signaled them to stand down. Sirzechs was never her enemy and she doubted he would be now, besides if he was… Then they wouldn't be much help in a fight against him.

Devi just gave her fellow Satan an amused look. "So I have, on both counts, Sirzechs. Mind telling me why you are so blasé about that?"

"Should I be shocked instead, Devora? I doubt you'd appreciate that."

"And how would you know what I'd appreciate?"

Sirzechs just smiled pleasantly, "Simple deduction. After all, you've been trying quite hard to remain incognito over the past few weeks."

"You knew?" Devi replied as she idly noted that the guests around her were shocked speechless by the pleasant conversation the two Satans seemed to be having. They probably thought that since she was an Old Satan and Sirzechs was a New Satan that they would attack each other on the spot or something equally ludicrous.

"Of course." Sirzechs easily confessed. "Furfur is a master at misinformation and the Phenex and their staff are utterly devoted to you, but no one is perfect."

"And you didn't say anything?"

"Why would I do something that my _fellow Satan_ didn't want me to?" Sirzechs offered meaningfully.

_Did he just? He did!_

Devi glared at the other Super Devil as he smiled back mischievously, even as the rest of the guests caught up to Sirzechs' acceptance of her into the ranks of the current Satans and fell to their knees in respect.

"Sirzechs!" Devi hissed in annoyance. "What about the others?"

"They have already agreed. We met as soon as you first broke your exile, and voted. It was unanimous. Welcome back, Fifth Satan!"

Devi's eyebrow was twitching uncontrollably now. _Damn! The little brats played me perfectly._

Determined to not to give Sirzechs anymore satisfaction at totally outmaneuvering her, Devi turned to Riser. "Riser, get over here now!"

Riser squeaked quite unbecomingly as he stood and marched over to her, "Yes, Lady Mammon?"

Devi ignored him, and the other guests still kneeling and waiting for her permission to rise, they had disrespected her and Ravel earlier and deserved to pay a little. Besides Sirzechs seemed to agree with her since he wasn't giving them permission either. Instead she sought out her aforementioned wife, who had quietly slipped away during her conversation with Sirzechs. She spotted her over by the boy, and conveniently next to Sirzechs' sister.

_Planning to take the girl hostage if a fight broke out, dear?_ Devi sent telepathically to her.

_That and moving things along more quickly by getting the details of what was going on out of the brats._ Ravel replied, unashamedly admitting to her plans to use underhanded tactics should the need for such arose.

_And?_

_The boy wants to challenge Riser to a duel. If he wins then the engagement is annulled._

_Reckless._

_True, but the best they could come up with in the situation. Besides he seems confident._

_Probably has a plan then._

With the ease of familiarity, the couple's telepathic conversation had passed in a blink of an eye and went unnoticed by all but a handful of the crowd. Turning back to Riser, Devi idly signaled that the crowd could get up.

"Riser, dear stupid brother in law," Riser swallowed at being called that. _Good. At least the ass realizes I'm furious with him._

"I disapprove of this engagement of yours. It is clear to me that the Gremory girl is unwilling," At this the newly rebranded Satan turned to the Lucifer for confirmation, who nodded. "Which means you are forcing yourself on her. That is something I'll _never_ allow _anyone_ to do to someone else while I can help it."

Riser gulped, and paled.

Unperturbed by his growing agitation, and in fact pleased with it, Mammon pressed on, "But you're family, so I can't just order you to break it off. That would be disrespectful to you and to Clan Phenex as a whole. As such, I'm going to give you another option. Want to hear it?"

"What is it, My Satan?" Riser asked in a shaky voice.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Sirzechs look pleased with the turn of events. _He probably wanted to break this engagement too, everything I've heard says he dotes on his sister, but couldn't do so without creating a scandal about abuse of power or some such. He's lucky I could care less about scandal._

Instead of answering, Devi instead turned to the Red Dragon Emperor and addressed the boy, "Dragon boy, you want to challenge my brother in law to a duel for your master's freedom?"

"Yes! I'd do anything for-"

The boy was silenced mid-sentence by Ravel and a hissed, "A 'yes' was more than enough."

"Very well then." Devi said as a terrifying grin spread across her face and she turned to face Riser once more. "Riser, fight the boy and if you win I _might_ consider allowing this engagement."

Riser just nodded, his face pale. _He knows I'll_ never _let it go ahead. So by allowing this duel at all, I'm actually aiming to make a public spectacle of him._

"Wonderful!" Devi cheered even as her entire demeanor screamed menace. "Let's get this show on the road then, shall we?"

* * *

The duel between Riser and the young Red Dragon Emperor had actually proven quite interesting. The boy even with his Longinus-class Sacred Gear was clearly outclassed. However, through the frankly heroic step of sacrificing his arm to the Welsh Dragon and the clever combined use of Holy Water and the power of the Boosted Gear to effectively poison Riser into submission, the boy had actually won.

"Looks like your sister is in safe hands, Sirzechs." Devi idly commented as she sat back on the throne that had been set up for her. "The Red Dragon Emperor looks to be quite promising this time around and is utterly devoted to her as well."

"That does appear to be the case." The other Satan replied smugly from his own throne beside her own.

The two Satans fell into companionable silence as the boy and his master flew off on the back of a griffin.

"Sirzechs, mind satisfying my curiosity about something?" Devi asked finally as the griffin and its riders disappeared from sight.

"About?"

"Your wife, Grayfia. Why is she dressed as a maid all the time?"

"Well, that-" Sirzechs began only to be interrupted by said wife.

"I enjoy my duties as a maid of the Gremory Clan, My Lady." Grayfia Lucifuge admitted.

"Is that so? And here I thought it was because Sirzechs had some kind of odd kink." Devi teased, causing both Lucifers to blush.

"Enough about us, Devora. What about your own wife? Where did she run off to?" Sirzechs deflected hastily.

"To exact her own punishment on her brother of course," Devi explained airily. "She was even more furious with him over this whole farce than I was."

Behind the two Satans, Rize Phenex audibly gulped.

"Don't worry Rize," Devi reassured her father-in-law. "Ravel won't hurt him _too_ badly. You Phenex have a knack for healing after all."

"My thanks, My Lady." Rize said insincerely. No surprise there, he'd seen the bruised lumps of misshapen flesh that Ravel had left her brothers when she got serious in their spars during their visit.

"Is it really a good idea for Lady Ravel to punish Lord Riser now?" Grayfia commented. "After all, he's still recovering from the effects of the Holy Water."

"Don't worry about that." Devi said waving away the concern. "Ravel is one of the best healers in the Land of Greed, she'll heal him up to perfect health _then_ beat him senseless."

Quite a few devils were unnerved by this, though Sirzechs just laughed goodnaturedly, "Your wife certainly suits you. She takes after you."

Devi shrugged, "She's more explosive though."

Just then Ravel dragged a fully healed but visibly hesitant Riser in front of the two Satans. "Devi, Lord Lucifer, I would like to challenge my brother Riser to a duel. As the highest ranking devils here, would the two of you officiate?"

"Of course." "Certainly."

"My thanks." Ravel said as she gave a curtsy.

With permission received, Ravel and a reluctant Riser headed over to the center of the ballroom where the previous duel had just recently concluded.

"Sirzechs, since I started off the last duel, would you mind doing this one? I'll handle the wards." Devi requested.

"Very well." Sirzechs agreed with a nod.

"On my mark, combatants you will fight. Standard non-lethal dueling rules apply. Are you two ready?"

"Yes." Both Phenexs replied, though Ravel was noticeably more enthusiastic. One could even say she sounded bloodthirsty.

As a set of barrier wards snapped into place around the two duelists, Sirzechs gave the word to, "Begin!"

Immediately both Phenexs spread their wings and took flight. Riser launching fireballs at his sister as he did.

For her part, Ravel channeled the winds around her to collect the flames from Riser's attack into a single large fireball that trailed behind her even as she weaved through the air around the enclosed space of the duel arena.

Realizing that his fireballs were doing nothing but feeding what must have been some kind of large attack Ravel was building up, Riser decided to change tack and putting on a burst of speed charged his sister.

As he closed, a smirk blossomed on Ravel's face and Riser must have realized he was about to fall into some kind of trap and tried to desperately pull back, but it was too late. He was within three metres of Ravel when out of nowhere, a tornado appeared around him. He tried to fly away but the vortex kept pace with him and tore into his body. It must have been intensely painful as he screamed in agony.

"Hmm… Looks like Ravel is feeling particularly vindictive. She's laced that tornado with poison." Devi observed.

"She's that good with conjuration?" Sirzechs inquired, even as many of the other observers paled.

"I did say she was one of my land's best healers. Conjuring poison energy is just an inverse of what they do in their healing spells." Devi explained.

"Ah! I had thought she had conjured physical poison." Sirzechs admitted.

"She's still working with Tohru on that." Devi replied with pride in her wife's accomplishments and her drive to continue improving herself. "Look, Ravel is adding insult to injury."

And she was, for she had now added the fireball she'd created out of Riser's attacks, now tinted purple with poison energy to the vortex, transforming it into a fire tornado.

"I do believe this is called returning to sender?" Devi joked, even as Riser's screams of pain reached a crescendo and it became too much for him, causing him to pass out.

The moment he did, the flaming vortex keeping him tortuously prisoner dissipated, leaving him to fall to the floor in a boneless heap.

Seeing that the outcome had been decided Sirzechs stood and declared, "This punishme- Ahem! I mean duel is over. Ravel Phenex is the victor."

No one cheered, they were all too stunned by how brutal Ravel was, as the barriers came down and Ravel walked over to join Devi. As she walked pass a worried looking Yubelluna, she nonchalantly handed the other woman a vial of what Devi noted was the antidote to the poison she had pumped her brother full of.

"Done serving out righteous justice, love?" Devi asked as Ravel took a seat on the armrest of her throne.

"Yup." Ravel chirped. "I'm satisfied."

"Considering how harsh you were, I'd honestly be worried if you weren't." Sirzechs spoke up.

"So would I, honestly." Devi admitted as she stood.

Ravel pouted.

"Not saying that you went overboard here, darling, but it was a near thing."

The consort of Mammon looked downcast at the criticism and Devi inwardly panicked. She hated upsetting her wife, and was desperate to think of a way to comfort her. Unfortunately, her only surefire tactic in that regard was not something that could be done here in front of everyone.

That just meant, they had to leave. Now.

"Sirzechs, I trust you can oversee the bureaucratic parts of the engagement's annulment?" Mammon said in as controlled a manner as possible, as she sent a bolt of lust telepathically to her wife, who jumped to her feet in response.

"Of course. Rushing off somewhere?" Sirzechs said in a knowing voice.

"Yes. My wife and I have _business_ to deal with." Devi replied absently as she pulled Ravel close, just a tad too close for polite company, and summoned a magic circle.

"Have fun." The other Satan teased, as the Mammons teleported away.

* * *

The day after Riser's failed engagement, the exhausted Mammons woke to find that they had guests. Quite unexpected ones.

Waiting for them in the Throne Room was none other than the Satan Ajuka Beelzebub and what looked like a work team.

"Ajuka, why are you here?" Devi asked bluntly as she eyed her fellow Satan in irritation. She'd not even been accepted into the ranks of the new regime for more than twenty four hours, and she was entertaining its other leaders?

"To deliver a few things to you, Devora." Ajuka replied in good humor, unfazed by his hostess' foul mood.

"What things?" Devi asked cautiously.

"Lady Amon has the full list." Lulu nodded, gesturing that she was still going through it. She was just about to pass it over but Devi stopped her, she could review it later, she trusted Lulu to spot anything untoward. Instead, she focused her attention of her fellow Super Devil. "But mainly it's the infrastructure to facilitate the use of the Evil Pieces within your territory and of course a set for yourself."

Devi frowned. She had studied the Evil Pieces that Ajuka had developed herself, albeit inert samples, and were not particularly impressed. It was why she'd never tried duplicating it. As such, she was about to turn Ajuka away when Ravel responded.

At hearing Ajuka's words, Ravel cheered.

"Ravel?" Devi asked as she and most of her Court looked at her consort oddly.

"Sorry, Devi. But it's just…" Ravel cut herself off mid-sentence, biting her lip, as if uncertain whether to continue. "Well, setting all this up, it'll be hugely symbolic of our reintegration with the rest of Devilkind."

Devi just gave Ravel a disbelieving look. While she could tell that what Ravel had said was undoubtedly part of the reason for her excitement, it was not all of it and she was determined to get the full reason behind it. She couldn't exactly keep her happy if she didn't know why she was happy in the first place.

Apparently catching onto Devi's thoughts, a light blush spread across Ravel's face as she continued, "And also once this is set up, you can make me your Queen."

Devi blinked. Part of her was exasperated at this. It felt that Ravel was being ridiculous, after all hadn't she already married her. Wasn't that enough of a declaration of romantic commitment? But another, oddly enough the more logical part of her, reasoned that despite the years Ravel had spent in the Land of Greed, her roots lay in the Devil lands without and thus held onto the traditions of those lands. One of which was the practice, wherever possible, for higher ranking spouses to make their spouse the Queens of their Peerages. Something that was rarely possible because Queens were such important roles in Peerages and so often filled years before Devils even seriously contemplated marriage. As such, when it happened, it was taken as a sign of great devotion.

The logical side of Devi's mind and the part which was devoted to ensuring Ravel's happiness easily quashed her exasperation. So it is with a fond smile, she turned to Ajuka, "It would seem my Queen has spoken."

Ravel cheered again and threw herself into Devi and drew her into a long, deep kiss.

Pleasantly occupied with making out with her enthusiastic wife, Devi was only dimly aware of Lulu rolling forward to coordinate with Ajuka the details of setting up what he had brought with him.

* * *

A couple hours later, Devi and Ravel had finally recomposed themselves and were now alongside several members of their Court overseeing Ajuka and his crew making the final adjustments of the special monument that devils of appropriate rank used to register their status as a King of a Peerage.

The monument was a twenty metre high sculpture fittingly enough in the shape of a King piece from a chess set and was being installed in the central courtyard of Devi's palace.

"So all I need to do once it's installed is touch it and channel my demonic power through it?" Devi asked Ajuka.

"Indeed. Doing so will cause the monument to first use your power signature to run a check with the central database for your eligibility for a Peerage and if you are, it will then activate the Evil Pieces assigned to you." Ajuka explained even as he made a few adjustments to the monument's software from his tablet.

"The central database? You mean the data cloud stored in the server farms scattered across the Satans' territories?"

"Furfur does good work I see." Ajuka said as he gave a nod to the aforementioned spymaster who was observing the installation with her liege. "That the central database is not located in a single location was supposed to be one of the Evil Pieces system's biggest secrets."

"I thank you for the praise, Lord Beelzebub." Atlan acknowledged the praise with a curtsy. "Though you give me too much credit, I never could figure out a way to get my hands on an active Evil Piece."

"No surprise there. Since the Evil Pieces all have advanced friend or foe identification systems, if anyone other than their designated user attempts to use them or anyone but a designated technician attempts to examine them, they just go inert."

"I recognized those." Devi admitted. "They were based off Tohru's old designs for the hearthstone charms."

"Your tinkerer did good work, and while I usually prefer creating something wholly new, I also know when not to reinvent the wheel." Ajuka replied with a shrug.

"Still I must say that you've improved a great deal from the old designs."

"I thank you for the compliment."

"Devi-sama!" A indignant Tohru shouted as she materialized from thin air.

_Is she upset with us over what we just said?_

"Yes, Tohru?" Devi replied calmly.

"I've just examined this thing and it's nothing more than a glorified excuse for a identification checker! Why are we even installing it? If we needed something like this, we could build one that's much better!" Tohru said with an angry pout and crossed arms.

"I'm sure you two could." Ajuka answered before Devi could. "But the Evil Piece system extends beyond just the Land of Greed and a degree of uniformity is required throughout the system. And all the other Satan territories use this model. So please, Tohru-dono, please put up with this inferior version."

Tohru looked ready to retort, but Devi intervened with a proposed compromise.

"We'll come up a new version and pitch it to the other Satans and see about having all of the things replaced alright?"

"Sounds good!" Tohru chirped happily, before dematerializing and if her presence by the work crew installing the monument was any indication returning her attention to the process. She was not the only one, a excited Ravel had been eyeing the whole thing like a hawk as well, hovering over the men as they worked.

The crews spent a few more minutes running some final checks before beginning to pack up. As they did, Ravel dashed to Devi's side, "Come on let's get you registered! Then you can make me your Queen!"

The Fifth Satan let her overexcited wife pull her along, and quickly placed her hand on the monument and following Ajuka's instructions channeled her demonic power into it. Moments later she saw the Evil Pieces that the other Satan had brought for her, and currently lying in an opened case in Lulu's lap, glow first a generic red before that changed to a light sucking black as they synced with her magic.

_Well, that was easy._ Devi noted as she was once again dragged by her wife, this time over to said Evil Pieces.

"Here you go Ravel, Devi." Lulu, clearly amused by Ravel's enthusiasm, said with a smile as she handed over the Queen Piece.

Without further ado, or any fanfare, Devi activated the artifact and used it on her wife, making her the Queen of her Peerage.

Ravel seemed fondly exasperated at the lack of any additional trappings on an action that was typically coupled at least some kind of incantation, oath or other trapping to demonstrate its significance. The only thing that had marked the occasion was the magical circle that was created by the artifact as it did its work and the Piece disappearing into Ravel's being. But she seemed to understand that to Devi the whole thing, even using the Evil Piece at all, was entirely frivolous. And that Devi had done so entirely for her benefit, and so was unwilling to ask for more.

Devi loved her for that.

"Oh! Fascinating!" Tohru declared as she appeared right next to the couple. "I didn't know these Evil Pieces could do _that_!"

"It's impressive isn't it?" Ravel crowed with delight.

"Devi-sama, can I examine Ravel-sama and these Evil Pieces of yours?" The specter asked even as she practically drooled at the prospect.

"Ravel?"

"Good idea." Ravel said easily. Devi was taken aback. She knew Ravel would have rather that the two of them celebrate the event.

"I'll handle Tohru, you know how she'll be like if we don't let her satisfy her curiosity. In the meantime, you go see what _other_ reason Beelzebub came here in person." Ravel whispered in response to Devi's questioning look.

Devi reluctantly nodded, before giving her R&D head a stern warning, "Tohru, be careful with what you do in your examinations. Is that clear?"

"Of course, Devi-sama." Tohru nodded seriously.

"And remember to record everything! I want to go over it too." Devi added, because her inner scientist very much wanted to join Tohru.

Ravel just shook her head goodnaturedly at her wife's antics and closing the case containing Devi's remaining unused Evil Pieces, she took it from Lulu and headed off to Tohru's labs. The specter following after giving her liege a final nod.

"You have a very interesting household." Ajuka commented as Ravel and Tohru disappeared back into the central pyramid.

"I thank you, Ajuka." Devi said as she turned away from the door her wife walked entered through to face him. "Shall we adjourn to somewhere more secure to talk?"

* * *

A few minutes later, found Devi, Ajuka, Leloucia and Atlan in Devi's study.

"Quite the impressive study you have here, Devora." Ajuka commented as he took an indicated seat around the fireplace. "Is it secure though?"

"It is protected by wards cast by Ellen Marchosias, myself and Devi, Lord Beelzebub" Atlan explained. "It's one of the most secure rooms in the whole Land of Greed."

"I see." Ajuka said as he scanned the room with new eyes, as if deconstructing the wards and calculating whether he thought they were up to his standards.

"The wards do seem quite robust." Beelzebub said at last.

"Now then, what is your real reason for coming here today, Ajuka?" Devi asked.

"I was honest about mainly coming here to help oversee the installation of the monument. By the way, Lady Amon, have you tallied all the other equipment I provided? All the other sets of Evil Pieces?"

"It's all there, Lord Beelzebub."

"Other equipment?" Devi asked curiously.

"Just diagnostic equipment for Evil Pieces and some for repairing them as well."

Devi turned to Lulu and Attie.

Lulu nodded confidently, and replied, "I'll have Tohru look over them once she's calmed down."

"Being cautious? Good." Ajuka said approvingly.

Devi frowned, "Do you think something could have been sabotaged?"

"Considering the circumstances, I would not totally rule it out." Ajuka said sadly.

"What circumstances?" Devi inquired.

"You've heard about the Chaos Brigade, am I correct?"

The others all nodded.

"And that the Old Satan Faction has joined its ranks?"

Devi and Lulu nodded, but Attie spoke up, "I don't think the Chaos Brigade is anywhere near cohesive enough to say that. It is a _very_ loose coalition."

"So our analysis suggests," Ajuka acknowledged. "That does not however change the fact that it is a major threat, though it does perhaps lower it somewhat."

"I would argue it would lower it a great deal, seeing as it means we could potentially divide it by exploiting differences between its sub-factions." Lulu offered.

"Perhaps. Though I leave such plans to the experts such as yourself and Falbium, Lady Amon. Between the two greatest strategists of Devilkind, I'm sure you'll figure something out. But until we do, we must be careful."

"Because the alliance with the Ouroboros Dragon through this Chaos Brigade has emboldened the Old Satan Faction and so prompted their agents to be more active?" Devi mused.

"Yes, but that's unfortunately not all." Ajuka said with a sigh. "Their new assertiveness is also winning them new recruits. We've already identified and detained dozens, but they're likely only the tip of the iceberg. The Old Satan Faction is very good at infiltrating our ranks, there are just too many of our kind who sympathize with their beliefs or are disgruntled with the status quo."

"Especially in positions of authority." Attie accused.

Ajuka did not however raise to the barb, nor did he deny it, instead continuing on as if Attie had not spoken. "And while the loyalty of your people is legendary, even you are unlikely to be immune to infiltration. Especially with recent developments."

"You mean my joining your regime?" Devi asked. "I would have thought that would cause more problems with your people than mine. After all, large segments of the common Devils don't particularly like me."

"That's true, though you'd be surprised how many adore you. But that isn't really that big of a problem, our kind have always admired strength above all, so a reminder of your strength will do. Perhaps some kind of media campaign, that's what I heard Serafall was planning. You after all, are a Super Devil, which in itself represents a great deal of power and in addition to that you also command arguably the strongest army of Devils in the world."

"My troops aren't _that_ impressive." Devi downplayed the praise with a blush.

The others just gave her disbelieving looks.

"Don't let Archox or Tywin hear you say that." Lulu said seriously.

"Of course not, I wouldn't hurt their pride like that. But objectively we can't be that powerful."

"We are." Attie insisted. "We were, ever since the Great War, Devil for Devil qualitatively the best army that Devilkind has ever fielded, even if we were always numerically the smallest."

"Add to that, unlike all the other Great War armies, your army never demobilized." Ajuka chimed in. "That made what was originally the smallest Satan army into, by virtue of being the only remaining one, the largest."

Devi boggled at this, she had known her army was powerful, but hadn't really appreciated the extent of such until now.

"Why else do you think that the Old Satan Faction never tried to attack us?" Lulu added. "At first, they were afraid that doing so would weaken their armies too much and leave themselves vulnerable to the New Satans but later when the tide turned against them, they didn't because they couldn't, not without _being defeated by us outright._ "

"Oh." Devi said rather lamely. "I guess I'll need to brush up on my military understanding."

Ajuka chuckled. "You should. But don't worry too much, your retainers can help you with it. But as I was saying, it's the infiltration of your people by the Old Satans that we're worried about."

"Why? You mentioned something about recent circumstances, and I know that not everyone is happy with me for joining your regime. But I doubt anyone would betray me over that."

"If that was their only concern, probably not. After all, you have always been a Satan and being recognized as such by the majority of Devilkind is something that most of us welcome. But that's not the only thing that has been a potential source of discontent." Lulu explained.

"Indeed. You accidentally sealing your whole domain in a time bubble? Your marriage to an outsider, after refusing any romantic relationships for centuries? All these have had your people talking." Ajuka added.

Devi didn't question how Ajuka knew about the time compression. If he and the other Satans knew enough to know she ended her exile before she showed herself, then they could find that out easily enough. It was after all not easy to hide something on that scale.

"My people have been talking to your spies then?"

"A few." Ajuka confirmed. "So far it's not turned up anything substantial, but it might."

"Could you coordinate your efforts with my own?" Attie requested.

Ajuka nodded. "One of the men today works for Serafall, she usually handles these kind of things for us, I'll ask him to speak with you Lady Furfur."

"Thank you. On behalf of all us, thank you." Devi offered sincerely.

"No need for thanks. We're one people now, it's a given that I'd help you."

* * *

It took the various elements of Mammon's Court, a full week to recover from everything that Ajuka Beelzebub's arrival had brought. It had taken that long, for the Court to decide who among their people deserved a set of Evil Pieces - after everyone in the Court itself had themselves refused to take one -; for the R&D department to integrate all the equipment that had been provided into their labs; and for Atlan and her intelligence unit to go through the information that was provided.

Information that when combined with the hoard of things the Iwakura twins were revealing in their still ongoing debrief, had led to quite a few new leads as to the activities of the Old Satan Faction, the Chaos Brigade and even Rizevim Lucifer.

It was armed with these new clues that Devi and Ravel were setting off to continue their hunt for their enemy.

"Everyone," Devi said as she addressed her Court which had gathered to see her off. "I entrust the security of our home to all of you in my absence."

"You can count on us," Lulu said confidently, before turning slightly worried. "Though are you sure you don't want to take some troops with you?"

"No," Devi said determinedly. "I'll be able to move more freely with just me and Ravel. Besides don't forget that I'm a Super Devil. I can take care of myself."

"I know. I just worry, we all do." Lulu confessed.

"Don't worry too much, Leloucia." Ravel offered, "If we encounter anything too dangerous I'll get us home, even if it means using my life as bait."

"Ravel! Don't even say that!" Devi scolded.

"Well, it's true." Ravel countered defiantly.

Devi sighed. She'd tried to dissuade her wife on this front often enough to know that she would not be moved.

"Alright. We'll be going now." Devi said to her Court instead.

They all gave bows and well wishes as the Mammons teleported away.

* * *

**AN:**

**So we meet a new character worth a description this chapter, the Iwakuras, who I hope are interesting enough for you guys. For those who can't figure out who they are based on, they are based on Iwakura Lain from Serial Experiments Lain.**

**So yeah this chapter sees a little 'crossover' with canon. How was it? Tell me in a review.**

**My biggest gripe with this chapter was that it's kinda short compared to the previous two. But that can't be helped, as it was a good place to stop in terms of the rest of the story. Hope you guys don't mind.**

**Nothing else to say comes to mind, so as usual hope you enjoyed the fic.**

**I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	4. Opening Moves

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Opening Moves**

Tyrion Viné was the last surviving son and heir to Lord Tywin Viné, head of the Viné Clan and one of the generals of the Satan Mammon's armies. Born to one of the 72 Pillars, even one in exile, after the Great War, Tyrion had lived his whole life in the lap of luxury and in a time of peace.

Unfortunately, this did not automatically mean that his life was without tragedy. Far from it, at least in his opinion.

The first tragedy of Tyrion's life was the fact that his mother had died giving birth to him. His mother Joanna had been well past childbearing age, even by devil standards, when Tyrion was conceived. As such her her pregnancy with him and his subsequent birth had so strained her that even the best magic and science at the disposal of Satan Mammon, some of the best in the world, had not been enough to save her. A fact that had always haunted the Viné heir and something he felt his father constantly blamed him for.

The second tragedy was the death of his elder siblings, Jaime and Ceresi. When Tyrion was still only a young devil of twenty, the two had mysteriously disappeared, only to be found dead months later. At the time, Tyrion had blamed their deaths on Atlan Furfur and her agents, as his siblings had been - despite their own belief otherwise - very transparent in their attempts to betray Satan Mammon by selling the Land of Greed's secrets to the Old Satan Faction in exchange for arranging for their escape and elopement. Frankly, had that been the true circumstances of their deaths, Tyrion would have accepted it and moved on. After all, if that were the case then Jaime and Ceresi only had their own stupidity to blame.

But it wasn't.

The truth of the matter as Tyrion found out a decade later from accidentally coming across and reading some of his father's correspondence, was that he had had Jaime and Ceresi killed. The correspondence, a letter between his father and the Satan Mammon, was his father's own admission to said Satan that the primary reason he killed two of his own children was that he felt disgraced by their incestuous relationship. Learning the truth, his siblings' deaths became a tragedy in his mind because it meant that he was left to deal with the final tragedy of his life alone.

This final tragedy being the fact that his father was a monster. Tywin Viné was an utterly self-serving creature that sought to accumulate power and wealth for himself at all costs. One which let nothing stand in the way of this goal. Not family ties as seen by his willingness to blame an innocent child for the death of his wife and his killing of two of his children simply for 'disgracing' him. Even following his Satan into exile which earned him praise for loyalty had been, Tyrion knew thanks to reading in-between the lines of his father's descriptions of the events in question, motivated by naked self-interest. His father had seen that their kind was headed towards Civil War and that the best way to come out ahead of such a chaotic situation was to stay out of it like Mammon had done. He had thus chosen exile with the Satan, not out of a sense of loyalty but to protect himself, his Clan and their wealth.

Living with such a monster was difficult, but made even harder by Tywin's hatred for him for causing his mother's death. Tywin always sought ways to make Tyrion's life nigh impossible. He constantly imposed unrealistic expectations that when Tyrion failed to meet would lead to him raging at Tyrion to try harder. And on the rare occasions that Tyrion did meet his insane expectations, the son barely received any recognition from his father beyond a simple "well done" before he was given a new higher bar to surpass. It was clear to Tyrion that Tywin was simply working towards creating a situation where Tyrion would fail so badly that he would have just cause to have him, his heir, eliminated without causing scandal.

Too bad for the old devil, Tyrion was not about to give him the chance. Instead, he was going to make the first move and remove his father first. To this end, he had come up with a brilliant plan. He knew that the Satan Mammon had in recent weeks become obsessed with hunting down and eliminating the organization known as the Chaos Brigade. He had thus decided to make full use of this development.

He would engineer a trap for the Chaos Brigade, capture some of its members and then offer them to the Satan as sources of intelligence. With this he hoped to able to gain some favor with his liege that over time he hoped he could cultivate and eventually use to convince her to get rid of his father. Though to be honest, what form that would take was not something that he had a firm idea about yet. Considering how far off that would be, he had plenty of time to ponder that in the future.

For now though, he had a trap to spring. He had reached out to elements of the Old Satan Faction, a known faction within the Chaos Brigade, and offered them a means of bypassing the legendary wards of the palace of Mammon. Using this juicy opportunity, the Viné heir had successfully hooked the interest of a senior leader of the enemy, Shalba Beelzebub, for his trap.

"Are you sure it is wise to not inform anyone else of this, Lord Tyrion?" The captain of the squad of men that Tyrion had gathered for the operation asked worriedly as his men dispersed to their ambush positions around the designated arrival point to the palace that Tyrion had transformed into the stage for his trap. He had deliberately arranged for the strength and sensitivity of the wards over this particular arrival point to be lowered. Where they would automatically take offensive action against unauthorized arrivals, like transporting them into one of Ellen Marchosias' labyrinths, now they would only serve to pen them into the walled area around the arrival point, thus making them easy prey for capture.

"Of course it is, Captain." Tyrion replied confidently. "I can't have anyone else steal my glory, now can I?"

"Of course not, My Lord. But what if something goes wrong?"

"Have faith, my good Captain. Don't you trust me?"

Before the captain could reply, a magic circle lit up and out stepped a squad of armored devils.

"Greetings, welcome to the palace of Mammon." Tyrion said jovially.

"Greetings~! It's a pleasure to meet you at last, little dwarf." A middle-aged looked devil said cheerfully as he exited the still glowing magic circle.

Tyrion froze, this was not Shalba Beelzebub! He had a good idea who it was though, and the very thought sent fear coursing through his veins like ice.

"You're not Lord Beelzebub." Tyrion managed to say through his building terror.

"You don't say? I'm a little too old to be him, eh?" The strange devil replied even as he looked at his surroundings with nostalgia.

"Who are you?"

The older looking devil broke into chilling laughter. Only replying when he finally calmed down, "Don't you already know? Isn't it why you're quaking in your itty bitty~ dwarf boots?"

Tyrion didn't raise to the taunt, he was too terrified to do anything as he saw more and more enemy devils pour through the magic circle, though they were hardly a concern compared to the one devil before him.

"No answer? Has my awesome presence left you speechless? Is this all the Viné heir can manage? Sad~!" At this the devil's face into a comically sad one for a moment. "Or maybe you really don't know? Well then I'm just have to enlighten you. My name's Rizevim Livan Lucifer."

His worst fears confirmed, Tyrion did the only smart thing, he turned tail and ran. He shapeshifted into the form of a cheetah and sped away as fast as he could.

"Oh darn~! He ran away! But no matter, let's party anyways!" Tyrion heard the Super Devil say even as explosions rocked the earth behind, signaling no doubt that his men were dead.

"This is gonna be absolutely great! I've missed having fun at Devora's house!" Was the last thing the fleeing Viné heard as he raced away to what he hoped was safety.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier**

Archox Eligor was relaxing in his quarters after a fruitful morning of training with his men. His rooms were a simple affair, while it was not exactly spartan, it did not have the extravagance of many of the other rooms in the palace of Mammon nor even in the homes of his fellow lords of the 72 Pillars. Archox preferred practicality over luxury. As a result, his furniture were purely functional, with minimal adornments and his decorations were limited to various weapons and armor that he could make use of if the need arose. The only exception to this was a single portrait that hung across the desk in his private study, a portrait of a beautiful black haired and willowy female devil with the Mammon eyes.

"Deliora," Archox said in a wistful voice, "How I miss you."

* * *

**Flashback start**

"Deliora, we can't do this!" Archox said as he pushed Deliora Mammon off him. "What if Luzen finds out?"

"Let him!" The Mammon replied hotly. "I've given my husband seven children already. I've done my duty to him."

"He is still your husband." Archox said as he fixed the jacket that Deliora had partially unbuttoned. "You should be faithful to him!"

Deliora laughed a bitter laugh at that, "To a man I do not love? That I only married because my accursed family forced me to?"

"If not for him, then for your children!" Archox shot back.

"Children I do not love?" Deliora replied sharply.

Archox had no answer to that, it was a known fact that Deliora hated both her husband and the children the union she hated had produced. He could sympathize with her situation, more than that truth be told, but he would not besmirch his honor by doing what she wanted of him.

"If you pity me, Archox, then grant me this. Please." Deliora begged.

"I cannot. I am sorry, Deliora, but my honor-"

"To the Gap with your honor!" Deliora cursed. "Do you love me or not?"

The Lord Eligor knew what he _should_ say. He should deny it. He should tell Deliora that she was a married woman, a mother to seven children. That unhappy with her marriage or not, she had a duty to both her husband and her children.

But he couldn't.

He could not deny his love. Not for _this_ woman. Not for the love of his life. A woman he had loved since they were both children. A woman with whom he fantasized in their shared childhood dreams of starting a family with. The woman that he had lost when her family had chosen for her to marry her own cousin, the head of her family instead.

"I do, Deliora." Archox confessed. "You know I do, but…"

Sensing his weakness, Deliora pressed her advantage, "No buts. _Prove_ you love me by doing this for me."

"Anything but this." Archox pleaded.

But Deliora was unmoved and instead chose to push harder, pressing her body up to Archox's own and sensually rubbing herself against him. "Why? You don't like this?"

"No, I do!" Archox replied hastily. Like his love, he would not deny his attraction to Deliora. He could not. To do so would be to lie to her and he would not do that.

"Then why do you still resist me?" Deliora whispered seductively into his ear.

"I just can't."

Deliora pulled away then, and for a brief moment Archox hoped against reason that she saw sense. His hopes were dashed however when Deliora only used the distance between them to begin stripping.

"Deliora!" Archox hissed even as his libido began getting the better of him.

"Shh! Love, just enjoy the show."

As Deliora stepped out of her dress and began undoing the ties of her corset, Archox's will to resist crumbled.

* * *

"Archox, I'm pregnant." Deliora said to her lover as they basked in the afterglow of yet another secret rendezvous.

"What!?" Archox shouted as he bolted upright from the shocking statement.

Deliora giggled at her lover's reaction and gathering the sheets of the bed about her against the perpetual cold of Eligor Castle, she sat up as well.

"I said I'm pregnant." Deliora repeated. "I'm about two months along."

"Is it mine?" Archox asked quickly.

"Of course." Deliora replied. "I wouldn't have allowed the child if it was another of _his_."

Archox winced. Deliora had told him about deliberately terminating unborn children that she had conceived with her husband out of spite and he didn't approve. But he didn't tell her that, it would lead to a fight and they met infrequently enough that he would not spoil their time together with something like that.

"What if Luzen finds out?" Archox asked worriedly.

"Then you can do right by me and the child and elope with me." Deliora said dismissively, though Archox knew full well she was serious. He hoped things would not come to that though.

"We'll see." Archox hedged uneasily.

"You don't seem pleased." Deliora said with a frown.

Archox blinked. He had given that impression, hadn't he?

Pulling his lover into his embrace, deliberately crossing his arms over her womb as he did so, he showered her neck with kisses.

"Of course I am." Kiss. "I'm just surprised is all." Kiss. "And worried, you know I'm a worrier." Kiss. "But never doubt that-" Kiss. "I am absolutely thrilled-" Kiss. "By the idea of this child-" Kiss. "Our child."

Archox punctuated these last words by gently tilting Deliora's head to the side so he could kiss her fully.

**Flashback ends**

* * *

"It's been centuries, love, and I still remember every word, every touch, everything that we shared." Eligor said as he gazed lovingly at the portrait of his lost love. "And I miss every moment of it."

"Though I do not hate my current life either." Archox confessed. "After all, I get to be of service to our daughter."

At the mention of his daughter he sighed.

"My only regret is that I can never reveal to her the truth of our relationship. Devora would be devastated if she learned the truth. She loved Luzen a great deal, and he was a good father to her."

That he had been a better father to the child born of his wife's affair than his wife herself was as a mother to said child was left unsaid. It was one of the few points of bitterness Archox held over his affair with Devora's mother and he would not allow that alone to poison all the happy memories of their time together.

"I will not destroy my daughter's memory of him, just for my petty desire to be recognized as her father."

He winced immediately after saying the words. He knew what Deliora would say to that. She would have called him a fool and a coward for not doing everything in his power to get what he wanted, like she had done by initiating their affair.

Turning his thoughts away from that, he chose instead to think about his daughter. "I know, Deli, that in life you did not care much for Devora. Too much like Luzen, you said. But I hope that you're proud of her now. I know I am."

A smile common to proud fathers everywhere spread across Archox's face.

"She's a Satan now. A true, full Satan. Not a puppet given the title but manipulated by others. Or in exile. She's a rightful Satan of the whole Underworld now. And she and Ravel are getting on incredibly well. At the rate they're going, I won't be surprised if we become grandparents in a few years. I can't wait to-"

Archox's musings were interrupted by the sharp sound of an alarm and the sound of explosions.

"Intruders?" Archox uttered incredulously.

* * *

Moments later, Archox had joined up with his lieutenant Hansel Leraje and a cohort of the palace guard, which he idly noted included Hansel's lover Gimli Strongaxe.

"Hansel, report." Archox said as he led the men towards the sounds of fighting.

"It appears to be the Chaos Brigade, my Lord." Hansel dutifully informed his superior.

"What? How did they get pass Ellen's wards?"

"We can't be sure at this time, but I managed to briefly get in touch with Lady Marchosias, she said someone let them in." Hansel reported, his voice flat, too flat. Archox knew the younger devil well enough to know that he was absolutely furious at the fact someone would betray them like this, but was just too professional to be obvious about it.

The rest of the men were a lot more vocal with their anger.

"Quiet." Archox ordered, even as he too seethed. "Now is not the time for anger, we have a job to do and we can't afford to let our anger cloud our judgement while we do it. Clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good." Archox nodded to the men, before he turned to Hansel for more information, even as they neared the fighting. "Is Ellen still blocking internal teleportation?"

"Yes. She's shut it down entirely just in case."

"Smart move. We don't know exactly _how_ the enemy has compromised our security so until we do, we have to assume they can trick their way through all our protections. That includes our friend or foe identifiers for internal teleportation." Archox mused. "So it's for the best, even if it means we'll have to walk to the fight."

Just then, Archox and the men entered into one of outer halls, one of several large halls just beyond the central pyramid's various entrances that were designed to serve as reception halls. A task that in a fashion the hall was doing right now, as elements of the palace guard gave the enemy as deadly a reception as they could bring to bear.

Unfortunately for the defenders, the enemy had a major advantage: the power of a Super Devil. For standing amidst the ranks of Chaos Brigaders - mainly but not all devils - was none other than Devora's nemesis Rizevim Lucifer.

"Is that-?" Hansel hissed from beside Archox.

"Rizevim Lucifer, yes." Archox confirmed, as he eyed the battlefield with one eye as he kept the other firmly on Lucifer. Despite the valiant efforts of the defenders, it seemed that the enemy had broken through their left flank and had started pouring through the door on that side of the hall and deeper into the palace.

Seeing this and never taking his eyes off the enemy Super Devil, Archox issued his orders. "Hansel take the men you have with you and head off the enemy that have made it further into the palace. I'll handle things here."

Hansel hesitated for a moment, but only a moment, before nodding and turned to lead the reluctant men on their mission.

When he was sure that Hansel and his men were away, Archox sprinted forward and with an application of his demonic power became a blur as he raced around the hall cutting down all of the enemy while keeping a wide berth from Lucifer. A surprisingly easy task as the Super Devil was at least five metres away from his nearest subordinate.

Archox was so fast, that it was only a moment later that he was done and he came to a stop a dozen paces in front of Lucifer and equidistant between him and the remains of the hall's defenders. As he stopped, all of the enemy except Lucifer collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Bravo~! Bravo~!" Lucifer said as he applauded. "You truly live up to your reputation as one of our kind's greatest warriors, Lord Eligor."

While never turning away from him, Archox ignored the madman and instead addressed his troops behind him, "Men! Retreat now! Go hunt down the other intruders. I'll hold the line here."

"Hoho~! So caring of your men's well being." Rizevim teased.

Archox said nothing and instead just waited for his men to finish their retreat.

Once they were gone and he was alone with Rizevim, Archox finally addressed his opponent, "You'll not get past me, Rizevim."

"So much bravado. It's so manly~!" Rizevim started in his usual deceptively cheerful mood before his demeanor changed to uncharacteristic seriousness. "Yet it's also so foolish. You do know that you can't beat me right, Archox Eligor?"

"I know." Archox admitted as he drew his blade. "That's why I only intend to stall for time, until Lady Devora returns and deals with you."

"Brave plan." Rizevim complimented. "It so suits one of Devora's loyal little dogs. All so willing to die for her."

"Enough talk." Archox said, as he materialized his armor directly onto his body.

"Oh~! What was that? It looks a lot like how the Scale Mail deploys." Rizevim said sounding impressed and his mask of playfulness back on at full.

"It was something Lady Devora developed. But enough talk." Archox declared as he stabbed his sword into the floor, creating a wave of frost that in a flash transformed the whole hall into a frozen expanse.

"Frostmane, come!" Archox shouted as he conjured his mount from the depths of his soul. In response, a jet black horse with a mane as white as snow galloped out of a magic circle that had appeared behind Archox before coming to a stop next to its master.

"Uwah~! You're really serious aren't you?"

Archox didn't bother with a reply, he just mounted Frostmame and charged the Super Devil. If his speed when he slew the Chaos Brigade grunts had been impressive, his speed now was on an entirely differently level. It was at least an order of magnitude faster. Despite this however, as Eligor closed to slash at Rizevim, he struck only empty air.

"Too bad~! You'll-"

Archox once more cut only empty air.

"Hey! Let me fin-"

Frostmane trampled through an afterimage.

"Now you're just being me-"

Eligor decapitated another afterimage.

"Come on~! Give me a bre-"

Archox skewered thin air, but after a moment pulled Frostmane to a stop.

"You've stopped?" Rizevim asked, sounding puzzled. "Finally going to let me finish my sentences?"

"I was never aiming to hit you, Lucifer." Eligor revealed. "Just to spread my magic over the area to finish my ritual."

"Ritual?"

"[Rigentem Mortem Aeternam] (translation: Freezing Eternal Death)!" Eligor invoked in answer. Immediately, the entire hall was consumed by a surge of chilling magic, transforming it into a giant block of ice. Both combatants were trapped within, but Eligor moving as if he wasn't trapped in a block of ice cantered out of the ice and into the corridor from which he had originally entered the hall.

Breathing heavily, Eligor dismounted Frostmane and petted his flank in thanks for his aid in the battle.

"Thank you, old friend. Have a good rest." Archox said with gratitude as he dismissed him. Frostmane nuzzled his face before disappearing into particles of energy that surged into Archox's body.

As Frostmane vanished, Eligor turned to the massive ice block and the Super Devil frozen within. He knew that Rizevim was not defeated, much less dead, and was not willing to let his guard down despite his apparent advantage. Against an enemy of this caliber, the tide could turn quickly.

Archox's fears was proven true, as just moments after dismissing Frostmane, the entire block of ice created by his ritual suddenly exploded, sending deadly chunks of ice flying everywhere, forcing Eligor to summon a new wall of ice to defend himself.

As the onslaught abated, Eligor dismissed the icy barrier and dashed back into the hall, barely evading an energy blast that left where he was standing just moments ago with a large crater.

"Wow! That was so cool! I didn't know being frozen could be so exciting." Rizevim said cheerfully even as he wore a utterly malicious smile. "But that actually hurt, so I've gotta kill you now."

With that ominous declaration, Rizevim disappeared and faster than a blink of an eye reappeared in front of Eligor swinging an energy sword down. Archox however was not so easily bested, and parried the attack.

Undeterred, Rizevim steadily poured on the speed in his attacks in a bid to overwhelm the other Devil. Somehow despite his immense advantage in terms of speed, Rizevim's blows were all parried.

Finally, after a five minutes exchange, Rizevim pulled away, a frown on his face.

"You may," Pant. "be a Super" Pant. "Devil, Rizevim." Pant. "But you're not," Pant. "A swordsman." Eligor mocked his opponent.

"True." Rizevim admitted easily. "But I don't need to be."

As he finished speaking, the Super Devil casually pointed his empty hand at Eligor and launched a massive fireball at the exhausted knight.

Archox tried to evade, but the battle so far had left him far too drained and he barely made it a couple metres before he was engulfed by the flames.

As the flames died down, they revealed a battered and disoriented Eligor who staggered forward a few steps, looking ready to fall on his face. But before he could Rizevim appeared before him and ran him through with his energy blade.

"Wah~! What's this?" Rizevim said with a incredulous smile. "Even half-dead you're still able to partially parry my strike?"

"Like I said-" Archox coughed up some blood. "You're no swordsman."

"I know~!" Rizevim said with a pout as he withdrew his blade and stepped back forcing Eligor, without any support, to collapse onto the ground. A sight which brought a smile back to his face. "But like I said I don't need to be. After all, even with being a crappy swordsman I still gutted you like a fish, didn't I?"

Rizevim playfully cupped his ears as if attempting to hear something that Eligor was saying that was too soft for him to hear.

"What's that? I don't understand what you mean by 'gurgle, gurgle'. Oh wait! That's not you trying to talk, it's you choking on your own blood!" Rizevim spoke as if this was some grand revelation.

For a moment, the insane Super Devil stood waiting to see whether Eligor would defy the odds and get up again, when he didn't he just gave a disappointed sigh and walked away, heading deeper into the palace.

"You know, Eligor. You shouldn't have parried that last blow, it's only earned you a slow lingering death and frankly that's a waste for a warrior like you. I hope Devi will forgive me for it." Rizevim wistfully commented as he departed.

For an indeterminate amount of time, Eligor lay dying in a growing pool of his own blood. However, just as he was about to pass on, Hansel Leraje returned with his men. Seeing his superior mortally wounded, Hansel rushed to his side and called for the healers.

Quickly the healers stripped him of his armor and got to work. Their efforts soon bore some fruit as Eligor recovered enough to speak. "Hansel, you came back? Why?"

"I couldn't just abandon you, now could I?" Archox made to reprimand him for defying his orders but only managed to cough up some blood. "Relax My Lord, let the healers do their work."

"No, Hansel. Let me die, it is time to rejoin my Deliora." Archox demanded.

"My Lord, no!" Hansel pleaded. "We still need you. The men, myself, _Lady Devora_ , we all still need you!"

"No you don't." Archox refuted with a bloody smile. "You've all grown beyond needing my hand holding."

The Eligor coughed then and blood gushed from his lips and his wound.

"What? Healers _what_ are you doing? Heal him!" Hansel demanded.

"We're trying, Lord Leraje. But somehow the wound is resisting healing. It's almost like Lady Amon's." The healer said as he desperately poured power into his healing spells.

Eligor laughed bitterly at the news, but seemed unsurprised. "I knew I recognized the taste of the energy in that blade."

"No, this can't be happening!" Hansel said in denial. "What about your daughter? Don't you have to live for her!?"

The men stilled at this statement, none of them knew that Archox had a child.

"So you knew did you, Hansel?" Archox asked as his voice began to grow weaker. "I shouldn't be surprised but I am, you have after all been my lieutenant since those halcyon days."

"Lord Eligor, please for her. Live!"

"I've done that already, for centuries. But now it's time I died for her." Eligor said with a smile. "So no resurrections, let me do this final duty and rejoin my love."

"But what about me!? You're like a father to me, what would I do without you?"

"You were like a son to me too, Hansel." Archox admitted. "So could you do your father one last favor?"

"Anything!"

"Protect your sister with your life. Swear on it." Archox's voice was barely a whisper now.

"I swear!" Hansel solemnly said.

"Good. Good." Archox mumbled. "Goodbye Hansel, De-"

His last words unfinished, Archox Eligor died.

* * *

**Some time before the intruders break into the palace**

For the first time in what they could recall of their lives, the Iwakura twins were happy. For the first time since they had been taken from their family so long ago, they were no longer either subject to the whims of their superiors or in the isolation in the [Jigoku no mon]. If they wanted to they could, having received Mammon-sama's standing permission, leave [Spiral Urbis Opes] or even the Underworld entirely.

Not that they wanted to.

After all, here in [Spiral Urbis Opes] they were allowed to do things they were unlikely to be able to do elsewhere. They could train to use their powers in a controlled way like they had always wanted. This was in no small part due to the hard work Honda-sama and the rest of the R&D department, with the occasional input from Mammon-sama, had put into creating for them a set of adjustable limiters. These limiters took the form of the hair clips that the twins were so used to using to secure their bangs. It was thanks to them that they could now reduce the strength of their powers and learn to control it at a reduced level before slowly increasing its strength and repeating the process, thus slowly building up their skill at controlling their powers.

The twins sincerely hoped that with enough practice they would eventually make do without the limiters altogether, though they were sure that would be a goal that would take them years to attain.

Another thing they loved about their new life in [Spiral Urbis Opes] was being an _appreciated_ part of a greater whole. While the twins had been part of a larger organization all their lives, having been assets of the Japanese government since their kidnapping, that was merely as disposable tools. Their superiors back then never saw them as people, merely weapons that they were honing to use against their enemies. It wasn't like that with Mammon's Court. Sure, they still used their powers to help out, sitting down with Furfur-sama for hours each day going through all the information they'd ever gathered with their power about Rizevim Lucifer and the Chaos Brigade. But the important difference was that they _could_ say no if they wanted to, and everyone would accept it. That wasn't something that their old Japanese superiors would have allowed.

Of course, Furfur-sama and Mammon-sama would be disappointed but they wouldn't begrudge them not wanting to help. They, especially Mammon-sama, really wanted to kill this Rizevim Lucifer person and after learning about his history with Mammon-sama the twins could understand why. Despite this, Mammon-sama had made it very clear to everyone that the twins were her guests, and that this status and the help with their powers were not linked to whether they helped with other things. That said, the twins were more than willing to help. Necessary or not, they couldn't just live off Mammon-sama's kindness and not repay it somehow. That and they really, really wanted to help Mammon-sama get her revenge.

But the thing that the twins liked best about living in [Spiral Urbis Opes] was the chance to spend time with Mammon-sama. While she was generally too busy with important things like running her domain, overseeing her army, and hunting down Rizevim Lucifer, to spend time with them physically, neither the twins nor Mammon-sama were limited to the physical world. Their powers easily allowed them to meet telepathically in shared mindscapes, a fact that the three made full use of to get to know each other better.

Thus at least one night each week, when the three went to bed, they would conjure a mindscape to spend some time together. They usually created mindscapes in the image of cosy cafes, tranquil parks or if they were feeling adventurous some place with a fantastical vista, and just talked. Mammon-sama had said when they first started that this was to allow her to get to know her new subjects better and to help them settle in, but over time she and the twins had simply come to enjoy the time they spent together. And as the fluid nature of mindscapes allowed its creators the freedom to if one had some skill, and Mammon-sama had loads of it, dilate time, the total time they spent together had stretched into many subjective months despite them having known Mammon-sama for less than a month in terms of objective time.

During these talks, they told Mammon everything. They shared their life story, of being kidnapped from their family so young that they couldn't even remember their parents' faces; of being trained and sometimes used as expendable weapons by the Japanese; and of the loneliness of being imprisoned in the [Jigoku no mon]. They also shared their dream of learning to control their power and using it for the betterment of those around them. The twins eventually came to trust Mammon-sama so much that they even told her about their secret dream of one day finding someone who understood and accepted their nature, falling in love with that someone and starting a family.

Mammon-sama of course returned the favor. She was great like that. She told the twins her own life story, telling them about her happy childhood and how it had been ripped away from her by the Old Satans, Rizevim Lucifer and the Great War - the twins dearly wished to have had their chance at ripping one of these Old Satans to shreds, but consoled themselves with their knowledge that they would be helping Mammon-sama do just that to the Lucifer monster; about the immense grief that had driven her into two whole centuries of exile - which had earned her heartfelt hugs from the twins; and how falling in love with Ravel-sama had helped to lift the gloom and motivated her to reconnect with the rest of world - which spawned a sense of intense relief and, to their shame, jealousy in the twins.

Yes, jealousy. For the twins had through their talks with their savior came to steadily fall in love with her. It was not just simple idol worship either, they knew how that felt from the minds of so many people from all over the world. Though admittedly it had certainly started as such, over the course of their talks and as they grew to understand Mammon-sama ever more, their feelings gradually shifted into a more true feeling of love. A love that saw them wanting only what was best for the powerful but damaged woman who was ruthless to her enemies but kind to those in need and especially to her own people. A selfless love that meant that they would never act on their feelings, because they knew Mammon-sama truly loved Ravel-sama and they would never put themselves between that.

Or at least that's what they kept telling themselves as they restrained themselves, though it was getting harder and harder to do that.

It was as the twins were pondering these confused feelings while simultaneously distractedly flipping through some books on magic they had found in the library in their quarters when the palace was rocked by explosions and an alarm began blaring.

_What's going on?_ The startled twins sent to the captain of the guard post set up at the entrance to the guest wing where their quarters were located.

_Intruders, My Ladies._ The guard captain sent back, thankfully not unnerved by the twins' preferred means of communication as many of his peers were. Though they could sense part of the reason for that was his distraction by the situation with the intruders. _Please stay in your rooms, while we handle the situation._

_We can help._ The twins said immediately. If intruders were invading their new home, they were not about to sit idly by while others fought to defend it.

_Help? How?_ The confused captain sent back.

The twins ignored him and instead decided to let their actions serve as their answer. With an act of will, the twins shut down their limiters and let their powers expand to their full scope. Within the confines of [Spiral Urbis Opes]' wards, what they could do was limited but they nonetheless could help. Immediately, they detected the minds of the enemy, members of Chaos Brigade and many of the Old Satan Faction also. They tried to dominate them but were rebuffed by a combination of the city's wards weakening their powers and the enemy's own protections. They were combined so strong that the twins could barely read their minds at all. Undeterred however the twins tried a different approach, while they could not dominate the enemy or get a clear read of their minds, their powers still allowed them to get a fix on the locations of the enemy and catch flashes of their thoughts, primarily how they planned to carry out any given attack. All vital information that the twins' allies could make use of, so they quickly began feeding them said information.

With the twins' help, the defenders began to rapidly regain the initiative and moved steadily to destroy the intruders on all fronts.

Unfortunately, the tide turned when the guest wing was suddenly rocked by an explosion that shattered the twins' concentration even as it sent them sprawling to the ground from the blast. As they picked themselves up, they immediately noticed that the wing's guards had suddenly disappeared from their mind sense.

_What happened?_ The twins pondered fearfully as they got to their feet. _Are the guards outside-_

"They're dead as a doornail, dearie~." A cheerful but malice laden voice said from outside the door to their rooms.

_Who are you!?_ The terrified Iwakuras asked.

The intruder opened the door, completely undeterred by the wards placed on it to prevent intrusion, and sent them a terrifying smile. "Your deaths. Oh~! I've always wanted to say that."

The twins took a step back from the enemy that they only just now noticed was a blank to their mind sense, even as they recognized who he was.

_You're Rizevim Lucifer!_

"Yup~! That's me." Rizevim said as he raised his hands, which he had shaped to look like guns, at the girls. Wisps of energy already forming at his pointed fingers. "Normally, I'd play with you a bit more. But a certain someone wasted a little too much of my time, so~. Bye bye!"

With that the Super Devil fired twin blasts from his hands that blew massive holes through the bodies of the twins.

As the Iwakuras' bodies collapsed, they knew they were about to die, the fact they hadn't already was a minor miracle, and so they did the one thing they had resolved not to do: Tell Mammon-sama how they felt. After all, if they were going to die, they wanted to do so without regrets.

So gathering all their power they sent one desperate message through [Spiral Urbis Opes]'s barriers, through the divide between the Underworld and the mortal plane to their love. A message that contained every bit of their feelings for her, and of the regret that they would soon be parted.

All this they did in the instant between Rizevim's blow struck them and their bodies fell to the floor dead.

* * *

**A few moments earlier**

Devi and Ravel were just sitting down to lunch after a fruitless morning of hunting down leads on the Chaos Brigade when Devi was suddenly hit by a telepathic burst from the Iwakura twins. There was so much raw emotion, information and power behind it that Devi couldn't help but flinch.

"Devi?" Ravel asked sounding concerned.

"Telepathic message from the twins." Devi explained. "Give me a minute. It's dense."

_They love me? What?_ Was Devi's first thought as she tried to make sense of what she'd just received. That was a surprise to her. Sure she had sensed that they had a great deal of positive feelings towards her but to actually love her? She had not expected that. Not that she wasn't flattered by it, she was. She liked the girls a great deal, was even mildly attracted to them, how could she not? They had so many qualities that she found attractive. They were incredibly determined, brave, smart and the list went on. But she had Ravel-

The Satan's musing on her feelings were abruptly cut short as she unpacked the rest of the message. Shooting to her feet, she summoned a magic circle even as she explained the situation to her wife.

"Rizevim. Attacking twins. Now!"

Trusting Ravel to understand, Devi jumped through the circle and teleported into the twins' living room.

Only to see a sight that at once filled her with immeasurable rage and chilled her to the bone: standing over the bodies of the twins was Rizevim Lucifer, seemingly checking to make sure they were dead.

Without giving the other Super Devil the chance to notice her, she summoned her favored weapon, the [Wú rèn jiàn]. It was a traditional Chinese jiàn, or at least the hilt thereof, but it's blade was made up of pure void though it kept the shape of a jiàn blade. Devi had specifically created the [Wú rèn jiàn] to fight powerful beings like fellow Super Devils, as using the certain principles of Chinese magic that she had studied when creating it allowed it to be an excellent focus for her powers. This meant that she could now do more with less energy expenditure and thus extending her endurance, a major boon in fights against beings of comparable power to herself. And now for the first time, it would be used as it was intended.

"Well, that's done. Time to go before-" Rizevim was cut off as he suddenly had to evade an enraged Devi armed with this unusual sword.

"Hi Devi!" Rizevim said cheerfully as he desperately evaded a rapid series of thrusts that Devi sent his way.

Just as Mammon looked to be about to finally hit him, the Lucifer teleported away with a jaunty and mocking, "Bye Devi!"

"Rizevim!" Devi hissed in absolute fury before turning to Ravel who was tending to the twins. She could get angry at her missed chance at revenge later, she had more important concerns right now.

"How are they?" Devi asked, even she already knew and dreaded the answer.

"Dead." Ravel informed sadly, even as she shot Devi a meaningful look. "But not necessarily forever."

"You want me to use my Evil Pieces to revive them." Devi said with a frown.

"Yes. Their wounds are very serious so we'll need to be careful." Considering the twins now sported a massive gaping hole in their torsos this was very much an understatement. "But I'm confident that once they're revived that I can save them."

"But Ravel-"

"I know what you're thinking," Ravel cut in. "Adding them to your Peerage doesn't make you unfaithful. I'm still your wife. Taking someone into your Peerage doesn't mean taking them on as a lover."

"But it often does." Devi added, not bothering to add that this only happened when there was an attraction between the King and his or her Piece. That Devi mentioned this at all was implication enough of that being the case here.

"I know. I also know you like them." Ravel admitted.

"Wha-?" Devi sputtered. "How?"

"You talk about them a lot like Attie and Lulu say you talk about me." Ravel explained. "They were worried about how I would respond to that."

"And how would you respond?"

"I love you, Devi." Ravel said with a loving smile. "And I just want you to be happy, if that means letting you have a harem then so be it." Turning an exasperated look on her wife, she added, "It's not like it's uncommon at all among our kind. Riser has one."

"You're sure?" Devi asked, one last time.

"Yes." Ravel replied confidently. "Do it."

Devi nodded and summoned her two Bishop Evil Pieces and used them to revive the Iwakuras. The typical magical circle came into being around the twins' bodies, curiously rather than two separate circles for each twin there was only one. It seemed even the Evil Pieces recognized them as one being. Without any fanfare Mammon, let the Evil Pieces fade away and become part of the twins' being and revive them. As soon as they came back to life, Ravel snapped a healing field around the both of them.

"They'll be unconscious a while." Ravel said absently as she focused on healing the new fellow members of her wife's Peerage. "I'll handle things here, go check if there are any other intruders."

Devi just nodded and reached her mind out to her forces. _This is Satan Mammon, report!_

_Devi!? You're back? When?_ A surprised Lulu replied.

_Rizevim killed the twins, but they managed to call to me before they died._

_The twins are dead?_ Lulu asked with anger and sadness tinging her mental voice.

_Don't worry. I revived them._

_That means…_

_We can worry about that later. Give me a report on the situation._ Devi ordered.

_Right. Sorry._ Lulu apologized before growing serious. _It's the Chaos Brigade. They caught us by surprise. The initial defense was chaotic because of that and of course because of Rizevim. The twins helped shore it up by coordinating our forces for a bit, it bought us time. I've used it wisely to organize the palace guard. We're just about to counterattack. Tywin's going to support us with troops from the city. We'll trap the enemy between us and crush them._

_Good! Destroy them. I'll stay here and guard the twins. They were obviously the primary targets if Rizevim came for them personally. I'll await the good news._

_As you command!_

* * *

When the Chaos Brigaders had broken into Mammon's palace, they had split into five groups. Rizevim had headed off alone to deal with the twins; one force had headed down towards the the palace's labs; a second had headed towards the vaults; and another towards Mammon's apartments to raid the precious tomes in her study. The last force had stayed behind at their initial point of entry and secured it as an escape route, a necessity since the palace's wards were too powerful to allow teleportation in or out unless one, like Rizevim, was powerful enough to punch through them in the process, though that was something that was so draining even for him that he had only resorted to it in the face of fighting a clearly infuriated Mammon.

When the other Chaos Brigade forces had heard that Rizevim had fled, they promptly abandoned their advance and began retreating. This response was so well executed that it couldn't have been anything other than part of a plan. Unfortunately, for the intruders, no plan escaped contact with the enemy unscathed and their retreat quickly ran headlong into the counterattack by Mammon's forces.

The first to suffer this fate was the forces in the labs, during their advance they had managed to get quite deep into the underground catacombs that housed Mammon's R&D facilities and so were now faced with a great distance to cover before they could escape. They were thus still in the catacombs when they were confronted by Tohru.

"You lot have been a naughty bunch, haven't you?" Tohru said sternly as she materialized in front of the hundred plus host of Chaos Brigaders.

The intruders didn't deign to respond to her verbally but instead launched a barrage of attacks her way. She just let the blasts phase right through her spectral body and with a shake of her head, snapped her fingers. In response to which the covers of the drains that lined the walls suddenly exploded upwards as a horde of Tohru's undead abominations burst forth from the drains and beset the enemy. As the massacre began, Tohru summoned a scythe to her hands and waded into the melee to reap her fair share of the enemy's souls.

* * *

Even as Tohru finished up with her batch of intruders, another was just meeting their executioners. The group originally heading up to Mammon's apartments had suffered the most casualties on their advance but even then still numbered eight two as they began a retreat. That was however eighty two too many for Lelouica, Atlan and the sixty guards that confronted them as they made their way through one of the palace's ballrooms. Each with a contingent of thirty men at their back, Leloucia and Atlan blocked off the only ways out of the room.

Unlike Tohru who had taunted her foes before attacking them, Mammon's childhood friends simply attacked. From one side, Leloucia sent waves of white hot flame that consumed the enemy while from the other Atlan created an intense attraction between the Chaos Brigaders that drew them together and crushed them together in a ever growing but steadily compressing ball of flesh and bone.

The Chaos Brigaders fought back of course, launching all manner of attacks against the two powerful Devils, but their men shielded them from all harm with an impressive interlocking array of magical barriers. Caught between two deadly attacks and walls of barriers they could not break through, the Chaos Brigaders could only die.

* * *

The next of the Chaos Brigade detachments to meet their fate was the group defending their escape route. They were just receiving news that two of the three other remaining forces had been annihilated and were actively debating retreating themselves and abandoning their remaining comrades when that option was denied them. One minute they were manning a defensive position they had constructed around their breakthrough when in the next moment they suddenly found themselves, even those hovering in the arm, being grabbed by tendrils of rock and being pulled into the earth. Naturally, the Chaos Brigaders reacted by trying to break free of their entanglements but this only served to distract them as a company of hundreds of heavily armed Devils swarmed their position from tunnels that suddenly opened up all around them. Within minutes, the Chaos Brigaders were dead or captured and Tywin Viné stepped out onto the field to survey his victory.

* * *

The vault raiding squad of intruders loaded down as they were by their loot were the slowest in their retreat, this would prove unfortunate as this meant they were intercepted by the most sadistic of the defenders, Ellen and Viola Marchosias. Not that the intruders immediately noticed as they unwittingly marched into one of Ellen's labyrinth. They did begin to notice however when they were suddenly beset by an array of traps, that separated them, tormented them and if they were lucky outright killed them.

Of the fifty or so Chaos Brigaders who had consisted this force at the start of their retreat, only four deeply unnerved devils made it out of Ellen's labyrinth. Regrettably this only served to bring them into a direct confrontation against the Marchosias couple.

"You lot, are so slow!" Ellen shouted at her enemies while wearing a cheerfully sadistic smile. "All the other fools are dead, and you four are still alive." The Chaos Brigaders ignored her, after enduring the horrors of her labyrinth what she'd just said didn't faze them at all. "Well, we'll have to fix that won't we. Viola dear, would you do the honors?"

"Yes, Ellen." Viola said with a soft smile of her own as she stepped out from behind Ellen's wheelchair, a glow slowly building in intensity around her body.

By the time she was standing in front of Ellen her form had completely transformed into a living being of light that only vaguely held the shape of her normal body but with addition of a pair of batlike wings likewise made of light.

"Light demon!" One of the Chaos Brigaders managed to shout out in warning a moment before Viola's form surged forward literally at the speed of light and tore the four devils into bloody chunks.

With that the Chaos Brigade invasion of Mammon's palace was at an end.

* * *

Two days after the invasion and his death fighting against it, the memorial service for Archox Eligor was held. It was a solemn and grand affair, that was broadcasted throughout the Land of Greed and through special arrangements with the broader Underworld's broadcasters' to all the territories of Devilkind. It had involved a number of touching eulogies by those who had known him before he was finally laid to rest in his ancestral crypt in Eligor Castle.

Hours after this final send off to one of their own, the remainder of Mammon's Court gathered in the Satan's study to assess the aftermath.

"First things first," Devi said as the last of her people settled. "I want to know how the bastards managed to get past our wards. Ellen, any clues?"

"They had inside help. Someone used high-level clearance to lower the settings on the wards and created an opening for them." Ellen said, her anger at having her much vaunted defenses overcome by simple betrayal clear. "As to who did it? No clues."

"Why? Overrides are logged, are they not?" Tohru asked. As head of R&D she had more than a passing familiarity with the systems that underlay the wards.

"Yes, but someone took the effort to erase the logs too." Ellen explained meaningfully. Only someone in the Court's inner circle, that is to say those present in the room, would have the authorization to do that.

"Are you sure?" Tywin asked, sounding surprised. And just a tad worried, though it seems the others missed it. "Could the logs have been compromised when the data cores were breached."

"The system tracks when the changes to the logs are made too." Ellen countered. "The relevant changes, were made _after_ we crushed the invaders."

"The spy's work then?" Hansel said icily. The archer was especially angry over the invasion, particularly Archox's death, which was not surprising since he had been practically a father to him.

"Most likely." Devi cut in, before adding to the Vinés via a private telepathic message. _Or someone trying to protect their son's foolishness._

Tyrion stiffened at this but the widening of Tywin's eyes and the quick look he shot the resurrected Iwakura twins were the only indication that he understood what his liege meant. He looked ready to speak, probably in a further bid to protect Tyrion but Devi stopped him. _Don't bother. I don't blame Tyrion, he made mistakes, but his plan was in the right direction. He just underestimated the enemy. That said_ never _let him act on his own again. I'll not forgive him again._

Verbally, Devi redirected the conversation, "Attie, you've investigated too. Findings?"

"Yes, my men examined the enemy's equipment and we think we've found out part of how they did it. It looks like the Chaos Brigade was equipped with some kind of device that spoofs our friend or foe systems, we think that some versions can even fake high level authorization."

"Really?" Tywin asked in genuine surprise.

_Yes, to the first part. The second bit is possible but unlikely._ Devi sent to the old general.

"I'd like to examine the things myself." Tohru said worriedly. "If they can do that, then our whole security system might need upgrading."

Everyone gathered was uneasy at this revelation.

"It's not _that_ bad, everyone. From what we can tell, the system still needed a sample of our encryption keys to work. I've already had my people create new keys, that should buy us at least some time while we tighten things up."

"Attie, is right, everyone." Devi said in support of Atlan's assessment. "Though until we've revamped the security systems, we'll remain on high alert. Is that clear?"

A chorus of affirmatives came in response.

"That said, what I was actually trying to say was that due to these devices, I'm pretty sure that our spy isn't actually one of us." Attie continued her explanation. "He'd still need to be highly placed to have access to the guarded consoles with access to the relevant systems. But beyond that, he could use these devices to spoof our identities and gain access."

A palpable sense of relief washed over the group at this statement.

_Tywin, I expect you to produce the 'spy' shortly._ Devi sent to the older devil. If he was determined to protect his son then he would have to pay the price for it.

_It will be done, My Lady._ Tywin replied without hesitation.

"We'll leave the hunt for the spy to Attie, shall we? Of course, I expect everyone to assist her in this effort. The same for the updates to the security system, which we'll leave to Ellen and Tohru." Devi announced.

Another chorus of affirmatives followed.

"Moving on, I would like a consolidated assessment of what we have lost due to this raid." Devi winced at this, even as Hansel shot her a hard look. "Besides Archox and our other departed brothers and sisters, of course." Everyone was silent for a moment as they remembered the knight. "Well?"

"I'll produce a final list for you by tomorrow, Devi, but for now will a preliminary one suffice?" Lulu asked.

"Of course."

"First off, thanks to Ellen's hard work, we managed to recover almost everything that the enemy tried to loot from the vaults. Unfortunately, the thieves activated the anti-theft systems of the Void Gears when they tried to take them and they teleported away as they were programmed to do and their current locations remain unknown."

"Unknown? Don't they have locator beacons?" Tohru asked.

"They do but by the time we were in a position to send a recovery team we had lost the signals and they were no longer at their last known location." Lulu explained.

"Could they have bonded with someone then?" The specter asked with a happy gleam in her eyes, she had after all been looking forward to this very possibility ever since Devi had created the imitation Sacred Gears in the first place.

"That's one possibility." Devi mused. "But, Tohru, don't forget that there are others."

"I know, but a ghost can hope." The Japanese spirit said with a sigh.

"Can I continue now?" Lulu asked. At Tohru's nod, the Amon Lady continued. "Besides that the only other major material loss we had was in terms of the large amount of data that was stolen from the database. Tohru, you can confirm that the data was transmitted out of the city?"

"Yes." Tohru confirmed. "I picked up a powerful and heavily encrypted signal connection between our labs and somewhere else in the Underworld."

"Somewhere else?" Hansel hissed. It seemed his anger at their lack of answers over the invasion was getting the better of him. "You can't narrow it down?"

"They bounced it off too many proxies. I can't narrow it down more than that." Tohru admitted.

Hansel seemed about to make a disparaging remark when the Iwakuras spoke, in eerie synchrony. "We're better at signal intelligence analysis than Tohru-dono and we only managed to narrow the receiving area of our stolen data to a broad area of the Underworld."

"Where?" Hansel demanded.

"The Fallens' Domain."

"The Fallen? They were involved with this? I'll-" Hansel raved before he was interrupted by Devi.

"Restart the Great War? Don't you think considering the level of infiltration of our ranks by Chaos Brigade that the same is also true of the Fallen? And that this is a ploy for us to restart the War to their benefit?"

"We don't know that! The Fallen could-"

"You're right, Hansel. We don't know! We don't know why the signal ended up in the Fallen's lands and until we do we will not risk a war with them. Is that clear?"

"Yes, My Lady." Hansel replied through gritted teeth.

"Good. I would've hated to suspend you just after promoting you to General." Devi confessed.

Hansel nodded, though his demeanour suggested that not even his promotion to his mentor's old position could calm his anger. Considering he was only promoted because Archox had died, that was not surprising.

"Is that all, Lulu?" Ravel asked, as she eyed Hansel warily.

"Yes." Lulu said with a nod. "The rest are just minor things like damages to the palace due to the fighting."

"I see," Ravel said with a nod. "Then the twins have something to report."

The entire room turned to face the twins at this, they were all aware of their powers and could guess from the way that Ravel was bringing the matter up that whatever the twins had to say was likely important. She wouldn't have rushed Lulu like she had if it wasn't. They were right, of course, what the twins had learned was important indeed.

This fact however didn't help the twins' nerves at suddenly having the full attention of the room though, and they needed a comforting squeeze of a hand by Ravel and an encouraging nod from Devi before they worked up the courage to speak.

"You see we ran into Rizevim when he umm…" They paused then and shifted uneasily for a moment before continuing. "When he killed us. We kind of accidentally read his mind. Normally we can't, his mind is just a blank to us, because of his power and wards we think. But as we passed on, our powers surged and we caught a glimpse, just a tiny glimpse, into his mind."

"What did you see?" Hansel asked encouragingly, probably hoping it was something that could be used against the Chaos Brigade.

"We saw one of his latest plans. He's going after the Longinus-class Sacred Gear, Sephiroth Graal. We don't know why he wants it, only that he does. But we do know that he knows its current possessor is the female Dhampir King of the Tepes Faction Vampires and that he's working with the Tepes to somehow obtain it for himself."

Confused faces abounded in the room.

"Wasn't the Tepes a male-dominated faction of Vampires? Why would they have a female King? And a Dhampir one at that?" Tywin asked.

"There was a coup led by the current King, though intel seems to suggest she was just a figurehead and one of her brothers is the real ruler." Attie explained.

"But what about obtaining the Grail himself? Why doesn't he just work with the Tepes? I mean aren't they his allies already?" Viola spoke up, her confusion prompting the Devil to speak in a setting where she rarely did so.

"Enough!" Hansel shouted to quiet the confused questions. "None of that matters. What does matter is what are we going to do with this information. My Lady?"

Devi smirked, and answered, "Why, I'm going to ruin Rizevim's little plan of course. He's made his opening move so it's only fair that I made mine, no?"

The Satan's rhetorical question was met by vicious smiles all around, as everyone relished the opportunity for some payback.

* * *

No more than a few hours after the meeting had ended, Devi and her Peerage (which now included the twins) had paid a visit to the Tepes Faction at the castle that they were using as their current headquarters. Despite their unexpected arrival however, the vampires were smart enough to not needlessly provoke a Satan and graciously welcomed them into the the building.

They were however made to wait in a reception room, as they were informed that their abrupt arrival meant that the Tepes Faction's leader was currently occupied elsewhere and was not immediately available to receive them. This suited Devi just fine as it gave her and her Peerage the chance to assess the situation.

_Their wards are jamming our powers._ The twins complained. _They didn't use to, when we were back in the [Jigoku no mon] we could read the minds of everyone here just fine. Well, most of them anyways._

_That sounds very suspicious._ Ravel replied.

_Since they're allied to Rizevim then he probably warned them about your powers and helped them tweak their wards to jam them._ Devi hypothesized. _He probably used the data he stole from our database to guide him, the majority of the stolen data was about your powers after all._

The twins pouted at this, clearly unhappy that the enemy was developing a way to counter their abilities.

Further conversation was cut short by the arrival of the de facto leader of the Tepes Faction, its Mayor, Marius Tepes. He was a beautiful doll-faced vampire that could have made most females swoon at the sight of him, Mammon and her Peerage though were unmoved.

"Greetings, Satan Mammon." The vampire said with a bow. "I am Marius Tepes, Mayor of the Tepes Faction. To what do I hold the honour of your visit?"

"I am here to do only one thing and that is to find out where is Rizevim Lucifer." Devi said cutting straight to the point. "Is he here?"

"I'm afraid I do not know what you're talking about, My Lady." Tepes replied smoothly.

_He really is a great liar._ Devi mused. _Too bad I have the greatest lie detector in the world with me. Girls?_

"We're done." The twins informed Devi verbally. Their eerie synchrony unnerving Marius enough to cause him to flinch.

"Done? With what?" The vampire inquired visibly nervous, probably because he already knew the answer to his question.

"Reading your mind of course." Ravel revealed proudly. "What? Did you think your fancy new wards made you immune to the twins' powers?"

Marius tensed.

"'Impossible! He said it would keep our minds safe.' That's what you thought just now." The twins told the vampire mockingly. "Your wards limit our powers, yes, but only in terms of range."

Tepes reared back in horror.

Even as they were throwing the vampire off balance though, the twins were telepathically informing Devi and Ravel of what they had learned.

_Devi-chan,_ the twins began with their new affectionate way to address their King and if things progressed well soon-to-be lover, _this guy is an asshole. He's deliberately forcing Valerie Tepes, his sister to overuse her Sacred Gear to strengthen himself and his followers. But as if that wasn't bad enough, he's also doing it so he can deliberately debilitate her!_

_What? How can someone do that to their own sister?_ Ravel raged.

_That's not all though, the reason why he was late in receiving us was so he could summon Chaos Brigade reinforcements, so that they can start extracting the Sephiroth Graal from the Valerie girl right now! Our sudden arrival spooked him and now he's accelerating the plan._

_That'll kill the girl._ Devi furiously noted.

It was thus with righteous fury that Devi drew the [Wú rèn jiàn] and leveled its conjured void blade at Marius' throat before demanding, "Summon your sister, vampire. I'm taking her with her. There's no way I'm leaving her in your abusive hands or anywhere where Rizevim can get his hands on her."

"Are you insane!? Do you know what you're doing? This could mean war!"

As if to prove the point, dozens of vampires swarmed into the room, ready to attack the Satan and her Peerage to rescue their leader. Devi paid them no mind while Ravel and the twins just took up fighting positions, with Ravel standing in front of the twins protectively.

"We are already at war." Devi said coldly. "We have been since the moment you aligned yourself with the Chaos Brigade. Now call for her."

"Not in a million years." Marius said with a smug grin or as smug as he could be with a deadly weapon poised to kill him. "You're too late-"

The vampire never got the chance to finish his sentence before Devi cut him in half, with each half then being sucked into the fissure in creation that Devi's slash had created.

As soon as Devi moved to attack, the vampires followed suit. None were fast enough to reach Marius in time, but they were certainly determined to avenge him if their vicious attack was anything to go by.

Unfortunately for the vampires, they were simply hopelessly outmatched. The vampires foolish enough to charge Devi quickly suffered the same fate as their leader, as Devi easily cut them to pieces which were consumed by the void before they so much as launched an attack.

Those who had targeted her Peerage had a marginally better time of it, in that they at least managed to fire off their attacks. As soon as the fight had started, Ravel had thrown a cyclone barrier around herself and the twins that tore apart the half dozen vampires who had tried to close into melee and deflecting the odd ranged attack while she threw oversized fireballs, enhanced by the her wind magic, to incinerate the other attackers. The twins meanwhile had used their powers to mind control a pair of the vampires and were making them attack their own comrades, who were reluctant to fight back.

Within minutes, the room was clear of enemies.

"Twins, which way?" Devi asked as they moved out to secure the Sephiroth Graal and rescue its possessor.

"Follow the thrall in front." The twins said as they directed one of their mind controlled puppets to take the lead, effectively making him a living meat shield against enemy surprise attacks. They positioned their other thrall at the rear to do the same.

_We have to hurry though,_ the twins added through telepathy as the party moved through the castle. _The Chaos Brigade is going to do asset denial on the Valerie girl._

Just then they turned a corner and were met with a squad of vampires arrayed in a tightly packed shield wall that blocked their advance entirely. Thankfully the use of the meat shield proved useful as it confused the vampires long enough for the group to respond.

_Asset denial?_ Ravel asked as she sent a barrage of air hammers at the ranks of the heavily armored vampires that had tried to cut them off. The powerful blasts of wind knocked the vampires off balance and broke their formation, creating openings that Devi's follow up void missiles ruthlessly exploited to reduce them to a pile of corpses.

_Yes, they're afraid that the girl might fall into our hands so they plan to destroy her before that can happen._ The twins grew regretful then. _Apparently after what happened with us, they want to be through and make sure that even if Devi revives the girl that we won't gain anything from it._

_How do they intend to do that?_ Devi asked as she threw up a barrier of void to absorb several powerful blasts fired at them by what seemed to a couple of human magicians, obviously Chaos Brigade's reinforcements. _If they kill her then they'll lose her Sacred Gear._

As Devi dropped her barrier, the twins sent their thralls forward in a burst of vampiric speed and had them tear the magicians apart, before recalling them into their positions at their lead and their rear.

_They'll destroy her body, thus making resurrection impossible, only_ after _they extract the Sephiroth Graal. Apparently the process will kill her. Before that though, they're going to destroy her mind, what's left of it, with a spell Rizevim designed. It's supposed to be based off the data about our powers he stole._

_What's left of her mind?_ Ravel asked as she used her powers over the wind to disperse a bank of fog that a vampire had tried to trap them within. This also served to expose the vampire's position to Devi, who promptly sent him to oblivion by conjuring a sphere of void around him.

_She was forced to overuse her Sacred Gear, the strain of it must have shattered her mind._ Devi explained. _So what you girls are saying is that if we don't hurry even if we reach the girl before the Grail is extracted, we might just find her as a vegetable._

_Essentially._ The twins confirmed as they used their telepathy to sow panic in a group of devils that had taken up positions on a higher landing of a stair that the group needed to climb. Ravel took advantage of the opening and engulfed the lot of them in a flaming tornado.

_How is that asset denial? I mean in that scenario, we would still have the Grail, right? Can't we just use it without the girl? Not that I don't want to save the girl. But from the Chaos Brigade's perspective how does it work?_ Ravel asked as they arrived before a set of massive metal doors, at least two stories high, that Devi effortlessly took care of with a single blast of void energy.

_Theoretically we could use it yes, but only after detailed study to figure out how to do so. Something that could take years. Having the Gear's actual possessor to use it for us is the only way to get it working in a reasonable timeframe. That's why the Brigade sees destroying the girl's mind as asset denial. A vegetable can't use a Sacred Gear._ Devi explained as she created a barrier around their group as they walked down a corridor filled with poison gas, even as Ravel crashed the conjurer of the gas with an air hammer and used her wind magic to disperse it. _Though there's no way I'd let this girl die._

_Agreed. She's suffered enough._ Ravel sent her agreement.

_We'll save her._ The twins echoed, as they finally reached another set of heavy metal doors though of a more normal size this time. _They're carrying out the procedures through here._

Devi nodded and blew the doors open with a void blast.

Through the doors was a large circular chamber at the centre of which was a large cross like artifact with a finish that was reminiscent of a circuit board. _That thing's the Sacred Gear Extractor._

Hanging limply from a set of chains that secured her to the extractor was a young woman in her early twenties with long blonde hair that reached to her mid back and red eyes. _That's Valerie Tepes and it looks like it's too late, her mind... it's gone._

Anger surged through the Peerage's shared telepathic connection. All four of its members were furious at themselves for being too late and at the bastards who had just destroyed a young woman. Fortuitously though, there happened to be a whole bunch of the bastards - both Tepes vampires and Chaos Brigade goons - in the chamber to vent their anger on.

Unfortunately, said bastards seemed to know that and acted swiftly.

"Start up the machine!" One of them shouted, only to earn himself a quick death as an orb of nothingness consumed his upper body, leaving the stumps of his legs as a macabre reminder of his fate. His order was followed though, and the artifact came to life.

"Stop the machine!" Devi commanded needlessly as she surged into the ranks of the enemy tearing them apart. "But don't hit it. We don't know what that'll do!"

"Right!" Her Peerage responded as they joined the fight. Ravel by deploying her wings and taking flight to strafe the enemy with wind blades and fireballs, anything more powerful being too risky to use in the situation. The twins on the other hand, simply threw their thralls into the fray, switching the targets of their domination each time their thralls died and mixing it up by sending bouts of confusion and panic into the enemy ranks and leaving them open for the others to pick off. Once a devil managed to fly close enough to the twins to fire a bolt of lightning towards them but his attack was thwarted when a robotic drone, shaped like a tennis ball but with a single camera like lens as an 'eye', shot out from out of one of the twins' pockets and deployed a protective barrier just as he fired off his attack. Startled, he didn't react quickly enough when said drone then fired a laser from its 'eye' that sawed him in half.

All the while, Valerie Tepes screamed in agony as the Sacred Gear Extractor forcibly drew out her Sacred Gear.

The battle was heavily one-sided but the sheer number of opponents meant that it took Devi and her Peerage a great deal of time to kill them all, by which time the Sacred Gear Extractor had finished its task. They were just finishing off the last of the enemies when three elaborately decorated golden cups fell to the floor and Valerie Tepes' body lost the last signs of life.

"Damn it!" Devi cursed. "We took too long."

"We can still save her." Ravel said as she cut Valerie's body free and lowered her gently to the ground.

"Ravel-chan, is right." The twins said as they picked up the Sephiroth Graal, their combat drone hovering above them protectively. "Just like you saved us."

"But…" Devi said, hesitantly.

"She's just like us, Devi-chan, used all her life. We have to save her and give her the chance to be more than that," The twins pleaded.

Devi shot Ravel a look.

"I'll just say what I said when you revived the twins." Ravel said encouragingly.

"And her mind?" Devi said even as she took the Longinus from the twins and carefully, reverently, returned them into Valerie's being.

"We'll cross that hurdle when we come to it." Ravel said with a satisfied smile, something that she more than deserved since she knew that she'd gotten her way. After all, there was no point to returning the Sephiroth Graal to a dead girl where it would just shortly just be transferred to another possessor. The only reason that Devi had to do such a thing was if she was going to revive her.

"Maybe we can help her with that, but she'd need to be revived first." The twins added with their own satisfied smiles.

"I hope so." Devi said distractedly as she summoned the Evil Pieces she needed to revive the Dhampir, only to be surprised when both her Rook Pieces appeared. "Both Rooks?"

"It happens," Ravel commented with a shrug.

Devi nodded and activated the Evil Pieces, watching patiently as the magic circle came into being and the Pieces merged with the newly reincarnated devil's soul.

The Evil Pieces were remarkable creations that could perform the miracle of reviving a being to the condition they were just prior to the point of death. It could not however revive someone to perfect health, thus the revived Tepes girl remained the vegetable she had been when she died.

"Well?" Devi asked the twins as she looked at them expectantly.

"It looks like whatever spell Rizevim developed, it isn't perfect." The twins said after a moment of quiet concentration. "We can still sense slivers of her mind that have remained intact."

"Then you two can heal her mind?" Ravel asked excitedly.

The twins shook their head regretfully, "That depends on what constitutes healing her mind. We can pull the remnants of her mind together and use it to rebuild a personality but well," The twins shifted uneasily at this, "It won't be her original personality. Just one with traces of the original one. That being the case, Devi-chan, should we do it?"

"Is there no chance of reviving her original personality?" Devi asked a touch desperately.

"We don't think so." The twins declared remorsefully.

Despite hearing that, Devi still hesitated. Seeing this, Ravel spoke, "At least she won't be a vegetable then."

Devi shot Ravel a look for a long moment, before she finally nodded. Standing up, she gave the twins a nod, "Do it."

For ten long minutes, the twins worked their mental magic even as Ravel and Devi kept a close watch over them. While they had torn through the bulk of the castle's inhabitants to reach where they were, they hadn't thoroughly cleared the building and there was every chance of an enemy suddenly appearing.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the twins announced, "We're finished."

As one Ravel and Devi's attention turned to Valerie who was just then pushing herself up into a sitting position. Apparently, noticing the stares directed her way, the former Dhampir startled and edged back from them until her back hit the edge of the Sacred Gear Extractor.

Approaching the girl cautiously, Devi greeted her, "Hello there. My name is Devora Mammon, you are?"

Peeking out from behind a curtain of her long hair, the girl replied, "Valerie. Valerie Tepes. Are you going to hurt me too like you hurt all the other people here?"

In the background, Devora heard the rest of her Peerage take startled breaths but she ignored them and just shook her head, "No, we only hurt them because they hurt you. We came to save you."

For a moment, Valerie closed her eyes and cocked her head to the side as if listening to something only she could hear.

"The dead said you're telling the truth. They also say you made me a Devil like you to save me. Is that true?" The skittish new Devil asked.

"It's all true." Devi confirmed with a nod. _So the Sephiroth Graal lets her talk to the dead? Interesting._

"So I'm your servant, now? The dead say that's how it works."

"Technically speaking, yes. But I won't make you do anything you don't want to."

Valerie began mumbling then, obviously communicating with the dead and considering what they were telling her, "Can't stay? They'll kill me? Devora will keep me safe? Really?"

Seemingly coming to a decision, though clearly very hesitant about it, Valerie returned her attention to Devi, "The dead says you always try to keep your promises. So will you promise that you won't make me do anything I don't want to?"

"I promise." Devi said sincerely.

"Then I'll go with you." Valerie said as she shakily tried to get to her feet. Devi rushed to support her.

"Glad to have you." Devi said as she steadied her new Rook on her feet. "Welcome to the family."

* * *

**AN:**

**So here's another chapter done!**

**Hmm… This time I only have two things I want to talk about.**

**Firstly, there's the action in this chapter. The chapter was pretty packed with it wasn't it. I hope it was acceptable. I know it's not as detailed as in some other fics, but frankly I kinda hate those super detailed action scenes. I get bored reading a dozen pages and the combatants have barely exchanged a couple blows, so I tried to avoid that. Hopefully I managed and produced something respectable.**

**Secondly, there's the issue of characterization. Namely for Rizevim and Valerie. On Rizevim, I'm unsure if my characterization of him is OOC, I hope not but realise it might be the case. That said, I've settled into a set of characteristics and behaviors that fit into what I think characterises Rizevim so I'm going to stick with it. So if it's OOC then I can only beg your pardon, because as I've said I think I'm going to stick with it. Besides despite being the antagonist, he's not likely to make many appearances so I don't think that's going to be that big of an issue.**

**As for Valerie, well… She as part of Mammon's Peerage will be getting loads more "screen time" than Rizevim, and I was thus less comfortable with making her OOC. Considering the scant material at my disposal from which to decipher her canon personality, I made the decision to engineer a plausible scenario to have her personality rewritten to allow for me to create one as I see fit. Hence, what happened to her.**

**As usual hope you enjoyed the fic.**

**I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	5. Escalation

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Escalation**

The central library of the palace of Mammon was, like everything they owned, a place of exceeding opulence. It was a massive room that covered the area of at least four football fields, with a seemingly impossible domed ceiling that was covered by a set of beautiful mosaics depicting the history of the Mammon Clan. Throughout the vast two whole stories were unless rows of bookshelves, which contained a small sample of the library's vast collection for even though the room was vast, it could not fully contain all the books and documents that the Mammon Clan had amassed over the years. As such most resources had to summoned from storage in the palace's vaults, or from the shelves if they were on display, from terminals that were strategically located throughout the library.

In a corner of this immense library that had been set up with a desk to serve as a study carrel sat the newest member of Devi's Peerage, Valerie Tepes. On the desk all around the new Rook were stacks of voluminous tomes, with one open directly in front of the young devil that she had been studying. For the moment however the young woman was taking a break and leaning back in her chair and taking in the grandeur of the library.

"This place really is grand." Valerie mused quietly to herself, conscious that she was in a library and keeping her voice down despite the noise dampening wards around her carrel. "And it's not just the decor either, even if it's out of this world, but the people too. I know it's only been a month but I can already feel the difference. Everyone here is nice to me, even if some are a little wary, but at least nobody is pretending like Marius used to."

The memory of her brother brought a frown to her face. Her memories of her old life were fragmented, at best. She had mostly retained her semantic memory but the bulk of her episodic memory was largely lost. According to the Iwakura twins, the memories were still there in her brain but the connections to them had been broken or scrambled, thus making their retrieval unpredictable, though having triggers would help. Despite this though, what she could remember of her old life and of her brother in particular did not paint a pleasant picture.

At the thought of her old life, voices begun whispering in her head.

_...You were our king…_

_...A prisoner…_

_...A tool…_

_...Our leader…_

They were the voices of the dead, that thanks to her Sacred Gear, Sephiroth Graal, she was able to hear. The dead told her lots of things, and that could be very helpful sometimes, like when they had helped to convince her to go with Devi back when she had just been resurrected. Not that she had much of a choice in that situation. Despite that, the dead could also be a pain a lot of the time. Sure, they told her a great deal of things, but they often contradicted each other and it was very hard to know what to believe.

Her ability to communicate with the dead was thus an unreliable power at best. A fact proven by how it had not helped her avoid becoming a pawn in Marius' plans back in her old life. She remembered having it then, which was why she had trusted it when she was first resurrected, but it hadn't helped her much. Instead, it had only been one more way Marius could make use of her: forcing her to learn things from the dead for him.

That life of being a practical slave… That was a life she was honestly quite glad she couldn't remember well. In fact, Valerie was determined to put as much distance between herself and that life as possible. To that end she had resolved not to be weak ever again, so that she would never again be reduced to a slave. She was thus resolute in honing her powers as a devil to their fullest.

When she had first raised the idea, most everyone had been encouraging though they had advised her to focus on training her abilities as a Dhampir and the use of the Sephiroth Graal. But Valerie hadn't wanted that. Both of those set of powers had failed her once already, and she wasn't going to trust that they would be enough to keep her safe this time around. When she'd informed Devi of this, she'd honestly expected her King to dismiss her concerns, they were after all a little silly. Power was power, and the only reason her powers had failed her was because she'd been too weak as a person to use them properly. Contrary to her expectations though, Devi had understood and had advised her to focus on her abilities as a Rook and maybe learn some magic instead.

That Devi had understood her was something that flabbergasted Valerie and stoked her growing sense of loyalty to her savior. Most leaders were not as understanding and accommodating as Devi was, and those that are were the ones truly worth following. At least, that's what Valerie believed.

Training in the enhanced strength and durability of a Rook meant a great deal of physical strength and combat training and was something that Valerie had taken to spending every odd day of the day doing under the supervision of either a fellow member of Devi's Peerage, all of whom engaged in such training too though less religiously then she did, or one of Devi's soldiers. On even days of the week, like today, she would focus on studying magic either through lessons with Devi or like now via self-study. On Sundays, she'd take the day off to rest and recover before taking up her routine again at the start of the next week. Following this strictly, Valerie hoped she would eventually become as strong as Devi was.

"Speaking of Devi…" Valerie thought out loud as she eyed the tomes around her. They were all about Ice and Darkness magic, elements that thanks to her King, the newly resurrected devil had discovered she had affinities towards. "She really is a great person isn't she? I mean she even finds the time to teach me magic, even when she could just ask someone else to do it for her."

Valerie's wandering eyes fell on a set of handwritten notes by the open book she had been reading earlier. "And she even took the time to write out notes and tips to guide me in my self-study outside of our lessons together."

In the former Dhampir's mind, Devi wasn't just a great leader but also a wonderful person. She was patient, unfazed when Valerie made mistakes in her lessons and always kindly correcting her. She was also very caring, always taking the time to ask about the well-being of all those around her once in awhile and doing whatever she could to help those in distress. Last but most definitely not least though was that Devi was of course absolutely stunning.

Valerie was honestly of two minds about that last observation. "I'm fairly sure that before my resurrection, I didn't like other girls. The dead tend to agree about that too. So where did it suddenly come from?"

Some of the dead had suggested that the twins had left an imprint of their own attraction to Devi in her mind when they had rebuilt her psyche. Valerie wasn't sure about that, but even if that were the case, the twins had saved her from being a vegetable so if they accidentally left behind a bit of their feelings towards Devi then it was a small price.

"Besides it's not like it changes anything."

Though even as she said that, Valerie knew it wasn't true. It did make a difference, if only a small one. It alongside Devi being a great person were what motivated Valerie to want to be the best possible part of Devi's Peerage as possible. Which was in turn another reason why she wanted to be strong. Valerie knew from both her old memories and research after her resurrection that Peerages were expected to go into battle alongside their Kings and so to stand alongside Devi when she fought, Valerie needed to be strong. So despite everyone telling her that it was not necessary, she wants to fight beside Devi like the twins and Ravel do.

It was the best way that Valerie could think of to repay Devi for saving her life.

"And if I want to do that I best get back to studying." Valerie observed before she did a light stretch and turned back to her books.

* * *

A couple days later, Valerie was waiting with Ravel at one of the palace's training yards for Devi and the twins so they could conduct a joint training session. Something which in Valerie's opinion were strange but educational experiences. They involved the twins using their powers to tie the whole Peerage into a single telepathic network, where they would use what everyone saw, felt, sensed, etc., to help guide them as they fought. Valerie could readily see the usefulness in this tactic, but it was pretty disorienting sometimes, which was what made it strange. But that was why they needed practice with it, which was what made it educational.

Today however, Devi and the twins were running late.

"They're late." Ravel grumbled as she paced around the yard impatiently.

"Only by a few minutes." Valerie commented distractedly as she carefully examined a vial of blood.

"What's that Valerie?" Ravel asked apparently noticing her friend's distraction.

"Oh? This?" Valerie asked, startled by Ravel's sudden question.

Ravel nodded.

Holding up the vial so Ravel could see it, Valerie began to explain, "This is a vial of Devi's blood. Since I'm a former Dhampir, I can get power boosts from drinking the blood of powerful beings. So… um… Devi got me a couple of vials of her blood to carry around so I can use them in an emergency."

Valerie wasn't really that happy about the whole idea, she wanted to leave her past behind her. But she also couldn't fault Devi wanting to help keep her safe. Plus they had both agreed that the blood should only be used during emergencies, so Valerie could accept that. She didn't like it though.

"Doesn't the blood need to be fresh for that?" Ravel asked curiously, as she came over to examine the vial more closely.

"It does." Valerie confirmed with a nod. "But that's where the vials come in. They're artifacts that Devi made, through magic they keep the blood "fresh enough". Don't ask me how though."

Ravel nodded, a proud smile on her face. "Well, that's my Devi for you. Always coming up with some crazy artifact or other."

Valerie nodded and put the vial safely away in one of the many hidden pockets stitched into her clothes for just this purpose, even as her insides twisted with something, an emotion she couldn't identify.

_...Jealous…_

_...You're green with envy…_

The dead whispered what they thought it might be, but Valerie dismissed the idea. What was there about what Ravel had said that would make her jealous? The only thing that might be the cause was her referring to Devi possessively by calling her "my Devi", but the two were married so that was perfectly fine, wasn't it? Yes, Valerie herself was attracted to Devi but that wasn't anything serious, right?

The dead began whispering again but Valerie ignored them in favor of looking at Devi and the twins as they entered the training yard in a rush. Their clothes, for all three of them, were in a mess: Devi's dress was messily laced up, one of the twin's blouses was only half tucked into her skirt while the collar on the other's was not folded properly and was furthermore missing her pantyhose entirely.

Considering their state of dress, it was not difficult to imagine what the trio were doing before their arrival. Something that Ravel picked up on too.

"What took you three so long?" Devi's wife teased. "You've been dating for ages and only got around to having sex now?" The twins blushed, even as they sported satisfied smiles, while Devi just seemed distracted. "I mean, we're devils not prudes. Why take so long?"

Even as Ravel happily teased the new lovers, which an idle part of Valerie's mind noted included her own wife, the former Dhampir felt distinctly unhappy alongside another surge of that not-jealousy that she felt earlier. Which was stupid! The twins and Devi had been dancing around each for the whole time that Valerie had known them, and with Ravel's consent and even active encouragement, had been getting closer and closer all the time. With that in mind, Valerie should be happy that the relationship between the three of them had finally entered a new stage. But Valerie just didn't, she couldn't.

Valerie's confused feelings triggered something in her mind and for a second she saw in her mind's eye, an androgynous-looking young teenage boy with platinum blonde hair styled in a short bob cut with several small fringes over his forehead, pointed ears and pinkish-violet eyes. A boy that she knew would if put in Devi's place in the same situation have elicited the same feelings from her.

The flash of triggered memory passed quickly though and Valerie quickly refocused her attention on her surroundings, to find that Devi was speaking in a serious voice.

"...talk about this later, Ravel. Right now, the twins have something important to brief us about."

Said twins were just then giving Valerie a sharp look, probably in response to her thoughts earlier. Valerie just gave them an apologetic shrug, to which the twins nodded and begun their briefing though they continued to observe Valerie, now with an assessing gleam in their eyes.

"We're just intercepted a transmission from Sona Sitri to Satans Lucifer and Leviathan. Apparently the domain she shares with Rias Gremory in the mortal world is being attacked by the Grigori Lord, Kokabiel, and they are in need of immediate assistance."

"Before anyone asks," Devi cut in before either Ravel or Valerie could raise questions. "Kokabiel is a member of Chaos Brigade, Attie has confirmed this."

And that was reason enough for them to intervene. It was no secret that Devi was almost obsessed with destroying Chaos Brigade.

"The other Satans seemed to have been caught off guard by this move. Kokabiel has timed his attack with a number of incursions by what we presume are his men along our borders, so they're taking some time to muster the forces for a response. Because of this we'll likely be the first there." Devi continued.

"So we're the vanguard plunging into an unknown situation?" Ravel asked.

"Pretty much." Devi said with a smirk.

Up till this point, the twins were still eyeing Valerie and it was starting to make her uncomfortable. She was about to ask them what they were doing, when they shook their heads and turned away.

"Sounds fun." Ravel shot back.

"Twins, Val, you three ok?" Devi asked even as she began straightening her clothes more thoroughly, Ravel rushing over to help. Presumably so as not to embarrass herself when facing their enemies. "Don't think I didn't see what was going on."

"It's nothing." The twins deflected, as they too fixed their clothes. "Just Valerie triggering a flashback."

"You ok, Val?" Devi asked, the concern clear in her voice.

Valerie just nodded.

"Ok. You're decent." Ravel declared as she finished tying a last knot for Devi's dress. "Now, let's get going, the Gremory and Sitri girls are in danger."

Everyone else nodded as Devi summoned a magic circle. A screen popped up in front of her and she began typing in a code whilst channeling her demonic power into her fingers. After verifying her identity via both her code and her demonic power, the wards lifted for a moment allowing the magic circle to teleport Devi and her Peerage away.

* * *

The teleport deposited the five of them mid-air above a dome shaped barrier over a large compound. Quickly deploying their wings, the devils of Devi's Peerage hovered over the barrier.

_The barrier is the work of Sona Sitri and her Peerage._ The twins supplied over the Peerage's telepathic network. _They're hoping it will contain the fight against Kokabiel and prevent civilian casualties._

_Noble._ Devi commented. _But foolish. A barrier of this strength is trivial to Kokabiel. Before we rush in though, let's observe the situation, we can decide how to intervene once we have a clearer grasp on the situation._

Inside the barrier, Valerie noticed a young looking man with black hair with pointy ears and dressed in some kind of suit being punched repeatedly by a teenage boy of average height with short brown hair and light brown eyes equipped with some kind of red gauntlet on his left hand.

_...Kokabiel...Red Dragon Emperor…_ Whispered the dead. Valerie recalled the Red Dragon Emperor was the title given to the being who wielded the Longinus-class Sacred Gear within which the Heavenly Dragon, Ddraig, was sealed.

_The dead are correct._ Devi acknowledged. _The man with the black hair is Kokabiel and the boy is the current Red Dragon Emperor, Issei Hyoudou. He and the other devils down there are members of Rias Gremory's Peerage. It seems they and those two exorcists have been fighting Kokabiel._

_They have._ The twins informed. _They hope to delay him until reinforcements arrive._

_Things are looking good for Gremory, Devi._ Ravel observed. _You sure they need our help?_

_Yes._ Devi confirmed _. Kokabiel has not released his full power. He has likely only been toying with them so far._

As if to prove Devi's point, Kokabiel took a step back from the Hyoudou boy and started ranting with a look of demented joy on his face even as he spread his five pairs of black wings. The moment he did, the world around them seemed to tremble as the Fallen Angel unveiled his full powers. Sitri's barrier wavered but held, while all of Kokabiel's opponents were sent to their knees by the pressure his presence exerted on them.

_And that's our cue. I'll handle Kokabiel, everyone else take care of his men._

Without another word, Devi shot down towards Kokabiel. She passed through Sitri's barrier as if it wasn't even there, shattering it in the process and sending the girl's Peerage reeling.

Valerie and the other members of Devi's Peerage followed at a more sedate pace, spreading out to hunt down any of Kokabiel's followers. The twins summoning a dozen of their tennis ball sized combat drones to help in their search. Their King had gotten the enemy leader's attention, it was now up to them to deal with his troops.

_We're not sensing anything._ The twins sent. _But be careful anyway, the enemy have been developing wards against our powers lately, so that doesn't mean we're safe._

Meanwhile, Devi was taunting the Fallen Lord who by the look of horror on his face, Valerie and her comrades noted with amusement, was absolutely terrified at the prospect of facing their King.

"Greetings Kokabiel," Devi said mockingly pleasant as she landed between the Fallen and his opponents. "It's been a long time, has it not?"

"You-Mam-Mammon!"

"Ah! So you remember me. How convenient."

"What are you doing here?" The Fallen demanded, having seemingly recomposed himself somewhat. Though he still looked a little pale, which considering his exceptionally pale skin that was quite the feat.

"I came to save the sisters of a couple of my fellow Sisters from a dangerous Fallen Angel Lord. But what do I find when I get here? A pathetic weakling finding joy in being beat up by a low-class devil powered by being a pervert."

By this time, Valerie and the others had finished clearing the compound - the twins' drones and magic made it a quick job - and had instead taken positions amidst Kokabiel's exhausted opponents, ready to defend them against any attackers that they might have missed.

As they did so, Kokabiel seemed to take offense to being called a weakling as his face settled into a snarl and he looked ready to hit back with his own derogatory description of Devi but held back at the last minute thus giving him an almost constipated look. In a impressive display of self-control, the Fallen settled for saying, "It's a pleasure to see you again, Devora. But I must be off."

He followed this up by firing a salvo of light spears at everyone present and turning tail to flee.

The Fallen didn't get far though as Devi launched her own barrage of missiles, void shots in her case, to intercept his attack and blurred away in a burst of speed in pursuit. She reappeared a moment later just behind Kokabiel, where she proceeded to grab hold of a pair of his wings and pulled.

With the terrible sound of flesh tearing and Kokabiel's agonized screams, Devi tore a pair of the Fallen's wings clean off. Kokabiel spun around, a sword of light in either hand and tried to scissor Devi in half, but the Satan just drew the [Wú Rèn Jiàn] in her right hand and cut off his arms midway up his forearm just as he begun his swings. Armless, the Fallen had no way to defend himself as Devi thrust her left fist into his gut and unleashed a blast of void energy with it, sending him crashing into the ground below.

Next to her, Valerie heard the Gremory girl gulp at the display before she began speaking in a terrified and reverent voice. "So this is the power of the Lady of the End?"

"Club President?" The Red Dragon Emperor asked sounding morbidly curious.

"The Lady Satan that utterly destroys her enemies and ushers them to their end. Satan Devora Mammon, the Lady of the End." Gremory explained as she gazed up at the spectacle of Devi tearing the Fallen Lord to pieces.

By this point, Devi had lazily drifted down to the impact crater that Kokabiel's fall had left behind.

_Heads up!_ The twins sent urgently. _Looks like the White Dragon Emperor is making an appearance._ They followed this with an image of someone equipped in a set of white draconic themed armor flying slowly, almost hesitantly, into the area.

The possessor of the Divine Dividing, the Longinus-class Sacred Gear which held Albion, the other Heavenly Dragon? Why was he here? Was he here to attack the Red Dragon Emperor and continue the eternal rivalry between the two dragons sealed within their Sacred Gears?

_Leave him be._ Devi sent back, as she casually walked into the crater. _If he proves a problem, I'll handle him. I doubt it'll come to that though. Attie says he works for Azazel and that old crow would train enough caution in his men to not pick fights with people outside their weight class._

Suddenly, a body flew out of the hole in the ground and landed harshly a few metres in front of Valerie. It was a battered Kokabiel, she realized. She had just come to this conclusion when Devi blurred into being directly in front of the abused Fallen.

"Hmm… Maybe I should have kicked harder?" Devi mused. "I would've thought I would manage a better distance than that."

Valerie barely noticed the Gremory Peerage and their exorcist allies regrouping around the Gremory girl next to her, she was too mesmerized by the sight of her own King.

Reaching down, said King grabbed the clearly unconscious Fallen by the neck and lifted the taller man off the ground.

"You know, I really want to drag this out a bit longer. But with the kids here, I think I'll just end it here."

With that Devi began angling her twenty wings to face the Fallen's body.

"Goodbye, Kokabiel." Devi said almost solemnly as she sent her wings through the enemy's body, literally tearing him to pieces in the process and covering herself in a rain of gore.

The group of youngsters beside her made horrified sounds at the scene but Valerie was enthralled. Covered in the blood and gore of her enemy, Devi was in her mind absolutely the most beautiful she'd ever seen her.

Amusement and agreement flooded the Peerage's telepathic network at that and Valerie couldn't help but blush at having broadcasted that thought to everyone, especially Devi. Though her King's only acknowledgement of it was an burst of amusement sent specifically to her.

"Ddraig. Albion. Greetings." Devi addressed the Heavenly Dragons with a curtsy, while still covered in the remains of her latest victim.

For a moment, Gremory and her friends seemed confused. Then suddenly one of the green jewels on the Hyoudou boy's Sacred Gear's pulsed with light and the dragon trapped within spoke. "Greetings, Devora."

Likewise, the White Dragon Emperor who had till then had been skulking in the periphery of the area unnoticed by the Gremory group was outed when the energy wings of his armor pulsed with light as the dragon sealed within his Sacred Gear replied as well, "Hello, Devora."

Both Sacred Gear wielders startled at the dragons speaking without any forewarning. The White Dragon Emperor hid it better though.

Devi sent the two men glares in turn, before addressing the dragons once more. "It's been ages since we crossed paths, Heavenly Dragons, how have you been?"

"It's been better." the Welsh Dragon replied to Devi's question. "My host is an insufferable pervert and being bonded to him is kinda humiliating."

Said pervert responded to this with an indignant "Hey!" but was summarily ignored.

"You have my sympathies Ddraig." The Vanishing Dragon said in reply. "In contrast, I'm quite satisfied with my host. He is quite strong."

"Lucky you." Ddraig said through what sounded like gritted teeth, earning himself another indignant outburst from his host.

"So what have you been doing, Devora? Last I saw you, you were tearing a feather off White-One over there." Ddraig asked conversationally.

"After she'd torn a scale off your body, I might add." Albion cut in.

"Right. Right." Ddraig drawled. "So answer the question, Devora, what have you been up to?"

Devi smiled, clearly happy to have the chance to reminisce with old friends, "Well…" She began as she told the two dragons a brief summary of her life for the past few centuries.

* * *

While Devi was having her conversation with the Heavenly Dragons, everyone watched on, too shocked by what had happened so far to do anything else.

"How can she just stand there and chat like that?" One of Gremory's group, a blonde boy with a sword, asked sounding unnerved. "She's covered in blood and who knows what else."

Most of the others nodded or otherwise showed their agreement, though Valerie noted that a young woman with long black hair and a voluptuous figure seemed as entranced by Devi's appearance as she and her Peerage-mates were.

"This is probably normal for her." The Gremory explained to her companions, "She fought in the Great War, and that was a very bloody affair."

Her friends shuddered at Gremory's words, even the curvaceous girl though Valerie suspected her shudder was for very different reasons than her friends'.

_I don't see what the fuss is about._ Ravel sent. _I mean, yes, the smell of blood and gore will be a pain to wash away but besides that getting bloody in a fight is pretty standard._

Valerie and the twins sent their agreement.

_It's probably the extent of it. If we hadn't gone through desensitization training for this kind of thing, I'd think we'd respond more like them._ The twins added.

_Then they're not prepared for battle._ Valerie chided. _That was one of the first types of training Devi put me through._

_Everyone trains in a different way, I guess?_ Ravel sent with a mental shrug.

"But even if she's some kind of veteran of the Great War, to tear a Fallen Lord to pieces so effortlessly like that." An exorcist with long brown hair in twintails said as she shivered, seemingly at the memory. "That's unbelievable."

"She's the Satan Mammon." Gremory said as if that was all the explanation that was necessary and if the widening of the eyes of the two exorcists were any indication, it was.

"The Satan that fought God to a standstill multiple times during the Great War? Shiva too? The one who killed two other Satans in the early stages of the Devil Civil War?" The same exorcist rattled off, in surprise.

"Yes, that's my King." Valerie couldn't help answering the girl.

She and her fellow exorcist, and the Gremory Peerage too, all shot a look at Devi and gaped. All except the Hyoudou who was sulking as he was reduced to nothing more than a 'mouthpiece' for the dragon in his Sacred Gear as it chatted with Devi.

"Still," the other exorcist, a a young woman with chin-length blue hair with a green fringe on the right side and dark yellow eyes, spoke after a moment. "To be so brutal, as expected of a Satan."

Valerie was furious at that statement and was about to teach the woman a lesson. But the twins spoke up before she or Ravel could do anything, "I'd advise you to keep your opinions to yourself, Exorcist. Our King is merely repaying the Chaos Brigade for their crimes against us."

_Really?_ Valerie sent to the twins.

_Yes. Devi was particularly upset about everything they did to you._ The twins confirmed.

Valerie's heart swelled at the idea. While she had no issues with how Devi had chosen to handle Kokabiel, she had known that it was somewhat out of character for her King who according to what she'd heard generally preferred to give her enemies quick deaths. Thus to learn that what had happened to her had angered Devi so much that she had vented that anger on the first available Chaos Brigade member was oddly heartening.

"Chaos Brigade?" The exorcists and the Gremory Peerage asked, clearly never having heard the name before.

"If you lot don't know who they are, then you don't need to know." Ravel said firmly.

* * *

Just then, Devi's conversation with the Heavenly Dragons came to an end.

"I hope to see the both of you, again." Devi said sincerely. "Hopefully in your own bodies."

"We can hope." Ddraig said with a sigh.

"If fate is kind." Albion agreed.

With those last words, the dragons fell silent. Devi looked a little disappointed by this, but recovered quickly and leveled a glare at the White Dragon Emperor.

"Leave, boy." Devi said sternly. "Tell Azazel that I've settled his rogue for him."

The armored boy just nodded but didn't fly off, instead sending a look towards the Red Dragon Emperor.

Following his gaze, Devi frowned.

"Don't even think about it." Devi warned. "I just rescued the boy and I'm not letting you kill him after all that hard work. If you want your fight with him, then wait for another day."

The possessor of Divine Dividing remained hovering where he was.

Turning to fully face him and radiating impatience. "If you insist on fighting him, then you'll have to go through me first."

The boy recoiled at that, and finally spoke up. "Very well. I'll leave."

He turned to leave, when Devi suddenly called out to him. "Wait!"

Turning back to the Satan, he cheekily said, "What? Weren't you pestering me to leave just now?"

Devi's eyes narrowed at his tone, but ignored it and instead asked, "You're related to Rizevim aren't you? I can sense his blood in your veins."

The newly revealed descendant of Lucifer flinched at this.

"I wonder…" Devi continued unaffected by the Lucifer's response. "Should I just kill you now, for that alone? Considering what Rizevim has done to me, I think I'd be within my rights to do so."

The boy fell into a fighting stance, even as Devi pondered the merits of killing him.

"I doubt _that man_ would bother to mourn you though," Devi mused out loud, before pinning the wielder of Divine Dividing with a fierce glare. "You're lucky, boy, killing you won't be worth the effort."

With that Devi turned her back to the boy and walked towards where her Peerage had gathered. Idly she noted that the boy had moved to attack her seemingly unguarded back but restrained himself at the last minute and after a moment of indecision flew off.

_Smart move, boy._

* * *

A week after the Kokabiel Incident, a summit between the leaders of the Three Factions was called to discuss what had happened. Normally, Devi would have nothing to do with such an event. Interfaction relations fell under Serafall's purview and if the absolute head of their kind was needed, Sirzechs as the first among equals of the Satans would serve the role. Add to this the fact that Devi had only been recently reinstated as a Satan and she was thus thankfully, in her opinion, not needed at such events.

Unfortunately for the Fifth Satan, her actions against Kokabiel meant she could not avoid attending this time. She was required to show up and explain her actions. Frankly she thought it was a waste of time, since Kokabiel's plans to restart the Great War was contrary to the goals of all of the Three Factions, in light of which his death was fortuitous for everyone. To her mind, everyone should just accept that she'd done them all a favor and forget about the whole thing. Her opinion however was not shared by any of the other participants of the summit, even the other Satans, who while acknowledging her point about it being a lucky stroke for everyone still felt she needed to at least show up in person and give her side of the story.

Devi, having been outvoted by the other Satans, had thus grudgingly agreed to attend what was being called the Kuoh Summit. It was this reluctance that led Devi and her Peerage to wandering the venue, the site of the battle with Kokabiel and apparently a school, even though she knew the other participants were already in the the designated conference room waiting for her.

"Was it really a good idea to make all the other leaders wait, Devi?" Valerie nervously asked as they toured the school.

"They forced me to come." Devi observed pettily. "So they can wait for me to show up. Besides, based on the official start time, we're still early."

"By five minutes. We're just down the hall anyways, we have plenty of time." Ravel commented airily as she looked out the school's windows at its extensive grounds. "Devi, is this really how schools in the mortal world are like?"

"I'm not the best person to ask that I'm afraid, seeing as how I've been living in exile in the Underworld for centuries." Devi replied coyly.

Ravel blushed, apparently having forgotten that detail.

"That said, from what I've read from Attie's report on this place, this Kuoh Academy is pretty extravagant by the standards of mortal schools. Thanks in large part to generous sums of Gremory and Sitri money."

"Well, their daughters attend this school, don't they?" Valerie asked rhetorically. Everyone had read Attie's intelligence reports on the Academy and its resident Devils. "That being the case, it only makes sense that their families would want only the best for them."

"True, I suppose." Devi commented as they finally reached the doors to the conference room. Nodding to the three set of guards protecting the door, she pushed the doors open before any of them could react and held it open for her Peerage. She wasn't about to let lowly guards steal her chivalrous moment after all. "Though I'd have preferred that the same attitude had been applied to our security today as well."

"You wound me, Devora." Azazel called out melodramatically from his seat at the conference table. "Are you saying that the wards I designed for today are subpar? Or the way we arranged the guards?"

The Fallen lord was flanked by three guards. Two were generic Fallen warriors, whilst the third was interestingly enough, if her senses were not mistaken, a half-devil and the White Dragon Emperor.

"The guards, Azazel." Devi said easily, undeterred by the leader of the Fallen butting into the conversation, even as she guided her Peerage, except Ravel, to seats at the side of the room. They joined Sona Sitri, Rias Gremory and their respective Peerages. The latter of which now included the blue haired exorcist from the battle with Kokabiel.

"Well that can't be helped, Devora. The guards are deployed as they are to ensure that each of our Factions is equally represented at each position." The Archangel Michael, leader of Heaven, explained almost apologetically. He like Azazel was flanked by three guards, two angels and the other exorcist present during the battle a week ago.

"It's inefficient."

"It is." Sirzechs admitted. "But it is the best we could manage."

The other two Satans had apparently decided to show up without any guards, perhaps as a gesture of good faith in light of having three of their leaders in lieu of the other Factions only sending one each. Though Sirzechs was accompanied by his Queen and wife Grayfia Lucifuge who stood behind the right side of his chair.

_In terms of guards, qualitatively speaking Lucifuge alone is equal to the entire retinues of the other Factions._ Devi observed critically. _Perhaps with the exception of the half-devil._

Devi just gave an exasperated sigh as she settled into her seat, Ravel taking up her place, one step behind her seat and to her right as befitting her status as her Queen.

_Looks like we brought too many people, Devi._ Ravel commented as she did a quick count of the respective retinues of the other leaders.

_Don't worry about it. If anyone makes a fuss, I'll chalk it up to no one telling me anything._ Which was true, no one had bothered to tell her the details of the Summit. Though that was in large part because when Devi had been informed about the Summit, she'd also made clear that while she'd attend, she did not want to involved in any other aspect of it.

"As for your wards, Azazel. Besides the standard barrier to keep mortals away and the defensive ones, why did you have to include ones that jam my Bishops' powers." Devi said as she leveled a glare at the Fallen.

"I take it that they're working? Good." Azazel replied with a self-satisfied smirk. "I based them off designs I got from raiding Kokabiel's holdings. They're originally from the Chaos Brigade if I'm not wrong."

In the observation gallery, the twins fidgeted in agitation. _Just when we_ want _to use our powers, it's jammed!_

_Peace. We knew this was a possibility._

"And you managed to conveniently have it ready to roll out for this Summit?"

"Of course." Azazel said smugly. "Don't doubt my skills as a tinkerer. Besides everyone's been working on these type of wards, since forever, anyways. You getting those telepaths into your retinue and the windfall from the Chaos Brigade just accelerated my work, that's all."

Azazel's statement was met by nods all around, which in turn earned a groan from the twins.

Looking over at Devi's Bishops, Azazel gloated, "My wards are twice as powerful as the Chaos Brigade's though. So how does it feel, huh?"

The twins sent a quick telepathic burst outlining how they would like to respond which brought an amused smile to Devi's face even as she gave them an assenting nod.

Suddenly, Azazel's two Fallen guards grabbed hold of his chair and pulled it right out from under him, sending their leader spilling to the floor.

The younger devils in the observation gallery gasped, but Devi noted approvingly that everyone else managed to keep their cool.

"That, Azazel, was for gloating too much." Devi informed the Fallen lord sternly as he got back to his feet. "Your wards are hardly perfect."

"Right. Sorry about the gloating." Azazel sheepishly apologized to the twins.

_Good. At least he knows who he should be apologizing to._

The twins nodded their acceptance of the apology.

Seeing that the drama had died down for now and Azazel had retaken his seat, Michael spoke up, "Now that Azazel has been suitably chastised, I do believe that it is time to get on with the formal portions of this Summit. To that effect, let's begin with the recap of why we are here, shall we?"

The Archangel received assenting motions from all the other leaders. He proceeded to outline what had led up to Kokabiel's attack on Kuoh. Devi just tuned him out, she'd already learned about this from Attie's intelligence reports: about how the rogue Fallen and his followers had stolen fragments of the Holy Sword Excalibur from the various Christian denominations and taken them to Kuoh in order to lure in Church and therefore Heavenly involvement.

While he talked, Devi instead focused her attention on the twins, who were radiating worry over the Peerage's telepathic network. _Alice, Lain, what's wrong?_

_It's the wards._ The twins reluctantly sent back. From the impressions in the message, they were unwilling to share what they felt was a weakness.

_What about them?_ Valerie chimed in, even as she squeezed one of the twins' hands comfortingly.

_We're worried that sooner or later someone will come up with something to nullify our powers altogether and thus make us useless._

_I don't think that's possible._ Devi reassured. _As far as I know, and I'm something of an expert in this field, limiter wards of this type can only weaken a power._

_But what if someone figures out how to make it powerful enough that it limits our power into nothingness?_

_Then just make sure that never happens by strengthening your power._ Ravel cut in exasperatedly. _It's simple logic, right?_

_Though, it might be a good idea to pick up other skills too, just in case. Maybe some magic like Devi is teaching me?_ Valerie advised.

_Devi?_ The twins asked hopefully.

_I'd love to._

The twins squealed at that, interrupting Azazel as he was explaining that Kokabiel had covered his tracks so well that the Grigori had not realized that he'd gone rogue until it was too late.

As everyone's eyes turned to the twins, they rushed forward to Devi and promptly kissed her cheeks.

"Wah! That's hot!" The pervert that was the Red Dragon Emperor cried out from the observation gallery. Next to him, his King Rias Gremory, faceplamed, obviously embarrassed by her Pawn's behavior.

Amused by the reactions of both the twins and the Hyoudou boy, Devi escorted her Bishops back to their seats. The Summit's other participants all clearly sharing in her mirth, if their smiles were anything to go by, said nothing.

_Not that I mind, Alice, Lain, but what brought that on?_

The twins were too shy to respond, so Valerie did it for them. _They were overjoyed that you took their worries seriously. The idea that these wards against their powers might one day make them powerless and thus useless, has been eating at them for a while. But they didn't want to let you know. I only know because it got so bad, they needed someone to confide in._

_Why wouldn't you two want to let me know?_ Devi sent to the twins, sounding a little hurt.

_It's stupid. We thought that if we became powerless you'd abandon us._ The twins said stopping mid-stride and looking down towards the ground in shame.

Devi responded by pulling both twins flush against her and giving each of their bodies a deep kiss in turn, sending her love for them across their bond the whole while.

At Devi's display of love, the Red Dragon Emperor made some kind of outburst, but was stopped midway by his King putting a hand over his mouth, even as she flushed red.

Devi paid them no mind, instead walking the now happily smiling twins back to their seats beside Valerie who mouthed a 'told you so' to the twins as they sat down.

Turning back to the Summit proper, Devi noted that everyone was accepting about her little sideshow. Michael and Serafall were looking happy for her, though her fellow Satan had an air of longing in her look too. Sirzechs and Grayfia were looking approving and were discreetly holding hands. Azazel was just grinning like a loon.

The White Dragon Emperor looked annoyed by the distraction, but Devi frankly didn't care what he thought or any of the other guards or the non-leaders either. They were neither her peers nor her people, so to her their opinions did not matter in the slightest.

"So…" Azazel drawled as Devi walked back to her seat. "Devora, you building a lesbian harem out of your Peerage or something? I mean your Queen is your wife and now your Bishops too? What's next? That Rook of yours?"

Taking her seat, Devi just shrugged. She hadn't set out to do it, but if her Peerage did end up becoming a harem like Ravel seemed eager to shape it into then so be it.

"As interesting as Devi's love life undeniably is," Serafall said as she sent Devi a teasing wink. "I think it's time we got back on track."

The other leaders assented to this and the boring business carried on.

The next to give her report was Serafall's sister, Sona. She outlined how Kokabiel had suddenly occupied Kuoh Academy and how she'd responded by working with her Peerage to set up a barrier around the school. She had hoped to contain him within the Academy, though she acknowledged that was unlikely and that more realistically her actions were aimed towards delaying him as long as possible before help could arrive.

Rias Gremory went next. She informed the leaders of the Three Factions about how Kokabiel had used the stolen Excalibur fragments to lure in the Church exorcists, and Valper Galilei with whom one of her Peerage had a grudge to lure her into his trap as well. A trap that she explained involved him killing her as the first act in restarting the Great War. She then proceeded to outline how she and her Peerage had tried to stall Kokabiel before concluding by detailing Devi's intervention.

Devi couldn't help but sigh at the girls' reports. Not that they were inaccurate in anyway, just that they didn't offer any new insights that Attie's reports on their activities didn't already have. Hearing nothing new made an already boring meeting even more so.

_Well, at least it's finally time for me to give my report._ Devi thought to herself as Serafall declared as such.

"I won't bore the rest of you with the details of how I killed Kokabiel, Gremory covered that quite well already." Devi said seriously. She might be bored out of her mind, but she was still taking the whole thing seriously. "Nor will I focus on why I intervened. He attacked our side, I stepped in to help defend my fellow Devils, and that I think is reason enough. Instead I'll outline my reasons for _killing_ him."

"Fair enough." Michael said with a nod. "Though I am curious why it was you, Devora, rather than Sirzechs or Serafall who stepped in."

"That's our fault." Sirzechs admitted even as he sent a apologetic look to his sister and her friends. "We wasted time mobilizing an army to respond and took longer than we otherwise could have."

Devi snorted at that. "And why bother having Peerages you keep around you at all times, if not for situations like this?"

"We know." Serafall sheepishly agreed. "We just panicked and didn't think things through."

"Or overthought things." Azazel offered. "The both of you must have thought Kokabiel was leading a major attack."

"It had crossed our minds." Sirzechs acknowledged. "Especially in light of his diversionary attacks."

"If that were the case, how would you have responded, Devora?" Michael asked curiously.

"Rampaged through Kokabiel's ranks to rescue Sirzechs and Serafall's sisters, then retreated and awaited the reinforcements that I knew they were sending."

"You wouldn't have mobilized your own troops?" Azazel said in surprise.

"My palace was just raided by the Chaos Brigade." Devi said even as a aura of malicious anger enshrouded her. "I lost good men in that attack. I'm not drawing down my defenses unnecessarily. And with Sirzechs and Serafall both marshaling armies of their own to respond, my own armies were not needed."

The other leaders nodded.

"Now, as I was saying before we were interrupted by this tangent. I killed Kokabiel because he was a member of Chaos Brigade."

Azazel looked ready to say something in response to this, but one look of irritation from Devi had him snapping his mouth shut with an apologetic look.

"I have proof." Producing a pair of data crystals from a pocket in the folds of her dress, she handed it to Ravel who passed one each to the guards from the opposing Factions.

"Beyond that, as outlined in the data on those crystals, is the fact that he was involved with the attack on my palace. We managed to track some of the attackers' outbound transmissions to men we know were loyal to him."

"If this is true, then you most certainly acted within reason." Michael said with a nod.

"I can confirm it was Kokabiel's lackeys who received your stolen data." Azazel admitted. "That being the case, I think you were in the rights too."

Devi just nodded. She didn't really need their validation of her actions but it felt nice nonetheless.

"However," Michael said seriously. "We need to take steps to ensure that such potentially provocative actions don't happen again or failing that some kind of resolution mechanism to prevent them from restarting the Great War."

"Oi!" Azazel cut in. "Let's not beat around the damned bush. Let's just make the reality on the ground become fact on paper too, and sign a peace treaty and formally end the Great War."

Michael and Sirzechs shot each other surprised looks at the Governor General of the Grigori's declaration, while Serafall just looked flabbergasted. On her part, Devi kept her face impassive. Based on Attie's reports she'd known Azazel was likely to suggest this, though no one had imagined he'd do so easily and without any prompting.

"That sounds acceptable." Michael said finally.

"Agreed." Sirzechs said for the devils, with Devi and Serafall nodding their assent.

"Good," Azazel said cheerfully. "Now, let's work out the details."

Devi tuned the discussion out, this was more Serafall's domain than hers. As for anything that pertained to her and her domain, she'd have Lulu review it later before agreeing to anything. So instead of paying attention to the negotiations, she instead sat back in her chair and prepared to be bored out of her mind for the rest of the session when she could leave and hopefully not return.

Her musings of an escape from the Summit was interrupted however when an urgent communication screen popped up in front of her.

_From Attie?_ Devi noted, as she began to grow alarmed. _She knows better than to contact me now unless it was emergency. What's happened?_

"My apologies." Devi said as she stood up from her seat. "I need to take this call, it's likely an emergency."

Everyone shot her concerned looks, except she noted the White Dragon Emperor, as the other leaders nodded their permission for her to step out.

Quickly, Devi, with Ravel at her heels, exited the room and answered the call.

"Devi!" Attie's frantic voice came forth from the magic circle that served as the speaker for the communication spell. "The Summit is about to be attacked by Chaos Brigade!"

Devi, Ravel and the guards in the corridor all startled at this revelation. "Attie, you're sure?"

"Yes!" Attie insisted. "I've got a dozen sources independently verifying it."

"Understood." Devi said as the cool mask of a leader at war settled over her features. "I'll take steps on my end. Ready our forces on your end to relieve us."

"Yes, My Satan!" Attie said like the war veteran she was. "Stay safe."

With that Attie cut off the communication spell. Devi barely even noticed as she instead turned to face the head of the contingent of devil guards in the corridor, "You. Inform the rest of the guards that an assault is imminent."

"Yes, My Satan!" The soldier saluted before quickly calling up a communication spell of his own. The Angel and Fallen guards quickly following suit.

"I'll inform the other leaders." Devi said absently as she reentered the conference room.

She was about to shout out her warning, when the door to the room closed behind Ravel and suddenly time around them abruptly stopped.

* * *

For a blink of an eye, Devi and the other occupants of the conference room felt time slow but suddenly as if with a snap of a rubber band, the proper flow of time reasserted itself. At least for those in the room that is, for it was clear by the view out the room's windows that time for the rest of the Academy had stopped.

"Phew!" Azazel as he wiped some sweat from his brow. "Luckily I managed to whip something out in time to protect those in the room."

"Nice ward." Devi commented absently as she walked over to a window to more closely observe what was happening outside. "How should we respond to them?"

Following Devi's example, the room's occupants took a look outside as well and saw a horde of humans in robes exit a magic circle that had popped into being above the Academy.

"Are those magicians?" The Gremory girl questioned.

"Yes." Azazel replied even as he scrutinized the magicians. "Though they're not wearing anything to indicate which Association they're a part of."

"Chaos Brigade." Devi said distractedly, as she remained transfixed by the scene outside the window. "They're working for Chaos Brigade. My call was Attie warning me of an attack."

And it was a terrible scene indeed, as the magicians were gleefully taking advantage of the timestop to massacre the frozen and helpless guards from the Three Factions.

"What power could do this?" Ravel asked even as eyed her frozen wife worriedly.

"Probably the Dhampir boy that's the Rias girl's bishop." Azazel explained even as he too sent Devi a look of wary concern. "They must have used some kind of magic to force his Sacred Gear into a Balance Breaker state and used it to create this time-stop."

There was more explanations about Mutation Pieces, Castling and how freeing the Dhampir would stop the time-stop and the transportation circle the enemy was using that were being tossed around but Devi ignored them. It was irrelevant. Likewise she knew her Peerage were gathered around her in various states of worry over her response to what was happening but she was too overwhelmed to respond to them.

"It's just like the Great War." Devi said in a horrified whisper, before her face suddenly hardened and cold fury settled on her features. "Whoever is responsible for this will die a painful death!"

"Will I now, traitor?" A female devil queried mockingly as she descended from the magic circle overhead flanked by a whole company of Devils.

"Katarea Leviathan!" Devi hissed furiously. "So you're the idiot behind this?"

"Idiot?" Katarea asked incredulously. "Would an idiot manage to pull off such a daring attack and have the leaders of the Three Factions at her mercy?"

"We're hardly at your mercy." Devi shot back.

"So that's the enemy leader? I'll-" The Red Dragon Emperor begun only to be cut off by his King.

"Stop! Issei, we need to rescue Gasper first."

"Good luck with that, boy." Katarea taunted. "Our trap locks down your teleportation magic. There's no way you lot will manage to get anywhere near him before being torn to pieces."

"Use Castling, now!" Devi ordered. "The Gremory girl has an unused Rook in the place where the Dhampir is, doesn't she?"

"You were paying attention?" Azazel asked sounding impressed. "I thought you'd be too out of it."

"Give me more credit than that." Devi said as a malicious smile spread across her face. "I can multitask."

Behind the two leaders, Rias Gremory and her Pawn teleported away.

"Che." Katarea scoffed, likely thinking those two would not be enough to do what needed to be done. "Albrechit, take a squad and deal with them."

"Yes, My Satan!" One of her Devil escorts saluted before flying off with his men.

"Katarea-chan! Why are you doing this?" Serafall shouted suddenly.

"Serafall!" The Leviathan hissed. "I'm overjoyed that you're here. It means I can kill you and finally eliminate the usurper to the headship of the Leviathan Clan and the title of Satan."

Serafall flinched at this.

"Serafall is a much better Satan Leviathan than your ancestor ever was, Katarea. Considering I worked with the fool, I can speak from experience." Devi jeered.

"And I would believe the words of a traitor?" Katarea scoffed.

"Better a traitor than a idiot still fighting a war that's long been lost."

"Enough talk!" The White Dragon Emperor declared as he summoned the wings of Divine Dividing's armor, shot out a section of the room's wall and flew out into the compound, attacking the enemy. "It's time to fight!"

"Eager for a fight as always, aren't you Vali?" Azazel asked rhetorically with a shake of his head.

Devi ignored them both, instead she turned her attention to the enemy's magic circle.

_Alice, Lain, I have a plan._ Devi sent to the twins. _Accelerate my thoughts._

_Why?_ Ravel asked even as the twins did as Devi asked.

_I intend to turn the enemy's strength against them._

_How?_ Valerie asked curious.

"Like this!" Devi declared out loud as she snapped her fingers and summoned a massive magic circle of her own that overlapped the Chaos Brigade's.

"What have you-" Katarea began only to be cut off when it suddenly began to rain blood and dismembered body parts. "What!?"

"I sabotaged your teleportation magic. It's a finicky magic after all, full of holes a skilled magician can exploit." Devi said with a satisfied smile on her face even as a good number of her allies, most of the members of Sona Sitri's Peerage and a girl with long blond hair from Rias Gremory's vomited at the gory sight while the other youngsters, Devils or otherwise, all looked ill. The Vali boy again being the exception.

Fortunately for the youngsters, Gremory and her Pawn were successful just moments later and the time-stop and the Chaos Brigade's transportation circle collapsed. Tsking at the timing, she'd hoped to drag things out a little longer for maximum psychological effect, Devi snapped her fingers and dismissed her own circle.

"Don't think that disabling the time-stop is enough. We still have more troops than you do!"

"You do." Devi acknowledged with a nod, as she closed her eyes.

"But that won't help you. Not when you're trapped in here with _me!"_ Devi said quietly but at the last word, she snapped her eyes open, revealing that they were now entirely pitch black. At the same instance the world seemed to shudder as her twenty wings shot out of her back, her power surged out to smother the whole area and a new magic circle took shape above the Academy.

"What?" Katarea cried out in surprise, as she flinched back from Devi's display of power.

"A anti-outbound teleportation ward?" Azazel noted Devi's new magic circle with professional scrutiny. "Not wanting her to run away."

"Not after what's she's done."

"I see. But you mind letting me handle her instead?"

"Why should I, Azazel?"

"Because I have something to check." Azazel said seriously.

"It's important?"

"Very."

"Then go."

"Thank you." Azazel said as he spread his twelve jet-black feathered wings and shot into the air to confront Katarea.

Leaving Azazel to deal with the Leviathan, Devi shot instead into the ranks of the enemy's soldiers, launching a massive barrage of void missiles into their ranks even as she summoned the [Wú Rèn Jiàn].

Behind her she noticed her Peerage and the youngsters following her lead.

"Devils!" The Satan shouted even as she cut a magician in half with her sword and speared a dozen more to death with her wings. "Give these scum no quarter!"

"For Satan Mammon!" Shouted the Devils enthusiastically as they obeyed her orders, tearing into the qualitatively inferior magicians that made up the bulk of the enemy forces with ease.

As Devi brought death to her enemies in her wake, she overheard a Angel from a group of encircled Angel and Fallen that she'd rescued comment that, "At least we're fighting _with_ the Lady of the End and not _against_ her for once."

To which one of the Fallen in the group responded with a, "Amen."

Devi smiled at that, it might have been a small thing, but at least it seemed she was contributing to fostering peace between the Three Factions in her own way.

Her good mood was ruined however when she saw Azazel, having just killed Katarea with an artificial Sacred Gear of his own creation, be shot down by the Vali boy.

_That traitor! So Rizevim's blood runs true!_

She launched a powerful blast of void energy his way and was about to close and engage him in melee. However, in her distraction, Devi failed to notice or heed the warnings telepathically sent to her from her Peerage, and found herself caught in a barrier.

Meanwhile, Vali had turned to the energy blast and confidently used his Sacred Gear's [Half Dimension] ability on the attack. He was shocked however when his ability had no effect whatsoever on Devi's attack, so much so that he barely recovered in time to dodge.

At the same time, Devi found herself trapped in a barrier that was quickly flooded with hellfire. The heat was intense even within Devi's combat wards, but the Satan had endured worse so was unhindered as she pooled her power and unleashed a massive explosion that shattered the barrier and killed four of her attackers outright, with a fifth falling to the ground gravely wounded.

The other seven Devils, Ultimate-Class ones she noted, managed to evade her counterattack and now circled her warily. Devi just blurred and reappeared a distance away and surging towards the Vali boy who was now fighting the grossly overmatched Red Dragon Emperor, even as the dismembered remains of the opposing Devils fell to the earth.

She didn't make it far though before she was waylaid again, this time by a handsome young man with short black hair dressed in a odd outfit that seemed to be a combination of a Japanese school uniform and ancient Chinese attire. Most fascinating about him though was his weapon, the True Longinus.

"Get out of my way, Hero." Devi hissed as she parried the most powerful of Sacred Gears with [Wú Rèn Jiàn].

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Satan." The young man replied confidently, as he launched into a inhumanly rapid series of spear thrusts. "Not until I've accomplished what I've come here for!"

Devi deflected his thrusts with some effort and detonated an energy blast to create space between them before launching a salvo of void missiles at her opponent. Despite some of the projectiles curving in mid air to home in on him from blind spots and odd angles, the man nevertheless blocked them with ease.

"What have you come here for, Cao Cao of the Chaos Brigade's Hero Faction?" Devi asked as she reassessed her opponent carefully. He had already proven himself more skilled than her initial estimation. At the same time, she warned off her Peerage from interfering with this fight. Cao Cao was an opponent none of them could face.

"So you know who I am?" Cao Cao said with a smirk. "I see the legends about your spymaster are well founded."

Devi blurred forward and engaged him in a insanely rapid exchange of sword and spear thrusts. As they pulled apart, they were both panting.

"As are your skills as a warrior." Cao Cao said with satisfaction. "Coming here today to test myself against a great Satan such as yourself was truly the wise choice."

"That's all you came here for?" Devi said with a smirk of her own. "I'd known Chaos Brigade was divided but not this badly."

Cao Cao shrugged. "We're just a bunch of separate factions drawn together by the promise of power that the Ouroboros Dragon offered. What do you expect?"

"I suppose you're right." Devi replied as she fired off a dozen massive beams of void energy that Cao Cao blocked by spinning his Sacred Gear quickly, thereby creating an impromptu shield.

Capitalizing on the opening his focus on maintaining his shield presented, Devi used a burst of speed to appear behind him to bring her sword down on his exposed back. Displaying impressive instincts and skill though, Cao Cao managed in a split second to change the rotation of his block to deflect the beams, spin around and send the True Longinus straight for Devi's torso.

The Satan however was just as capable as he was of feats of incredible evasion and managed to shift her body such that a fatal center of mass strike became a mere flesh wound along her side. Cao Cao smirked though, and he had reason to, the energy blade of his weapon was made up of Holy energy and could vaporize an Ultimate-Class Devil with ease. Not even a Satan like Devi should have been able to shrug it off.

However, Devi had a trump card of her own. While she was just as susceptible to Holy energy as any other Devil, her void magic with its ability to consume and nullify anything she willed it to, provided the perfect counter for what was typically anathema for her kind. Flooding her body with void energy, which she did whenever she entered battle meant that any exposure to dangerous elements like Holy energy could be immediately countered.

It was thanks to this that as Cao Cao's eyes widened over the fact that the power of his True Longinus had proven ineffective, Devi had the opening she was looking for.

"[Void Flames]" The Satan intoned.

As she finished the words, flames of the darkest black sprang forth from a magic circle that popped into being right in front of her opponent. Engulfed in the deadly flames, Cao Cao fell to the ground in agony.

Turning away from the soon-to-be corpse, Devi returned her attention to the Vali boy who had a monkey youkai next to him now, only to have her anti-teleportation ward suddenly shatter and the enemy survivors hastily teleport away. Including the grievously wounded Cao Cao.

"Looks like he'll live," Devi lamented with a sigh as she flew over to join the other leaders. Her Peerage forming up behind her as she did, the twins recalling the literal swarm of their combat drones they'd summoned during the battle in the process.

Not waiting for the other leaders to say anything, Devi declared that, "I'll leave the clean up to the rest of you." and promptly summoned a magic circle to leave.

She'd had more than enough of being bored for one day.

* * *

A few days after the disastrous Kuoh Summit, Devi was just tidying up her desk in her study after a hard day's work reviewing the peace treaty and mutual alliance agreement that the other leaders had drawn up. It made for boring reading, but it needed to be done. At least it was a distraction from reading about the losses the Three Factions suffered from the attack. The guilt that Devi felt at not being able to save more lives back then weighed on her whenever she'd read that, and she'd been compelled by her conscience to read it at least thrice by now. The Satan was suddenly drawn from her introspection when Tohru phased into being right in front of her.

"Tohru, what have I told you about phasing in front of people so suddenly?" Devi asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Not to do it unless it's an emergency because it startles people, and can cause accidents." The specter said mechanically, before becoming agitated. "But this _is_ an emergency!"

"What kind of emergency?" Devi asked skeptically. Her R&D head had some very loose definitions for what constituted an emergency, having once declared one because the palace kitchens had run out of her favorite fish sauce.

"The tracking beacons for the Void Gears [Rapid Death Dealer] and [Black Maw Cannon] just reactivated. Within seconds of each other!"

The two Void Gears alongside the third, [Death in the Dark], had a design flaw in them that meant their in-built anti-theft tracking beacons were automatically disabled when they were bonded with a user. It had always been a minor little hiccup in her imitation of the Biblical God's lauded Sacred Gears that she'd intended to fix, but had never got around to doing. And one she had been too proud to let others like Tohru fix for her.

"But that means that their users-" Devi began voicing what she feared.

"Are dead!"

"Damn it!" Devi cursed in frustration. _Not again!_

After the Void Gears' systems had teleported them away to prevent their theft by the Chaos Brigade during their invasion of her palace, it hadn't taken long for Devi to track down where they had ended up. Something helped along by the fact that their users, a trio of young women, were not keeping a low profile and instead seemed to be on a high over the power her creations gave them and had gone on a bank robbing spree across the United States. Attie had found out about them hours after their first heist.

Attie had approached her then about retrieving the Gears by recruiting the women or some other means, but Devi had taken one look at the photos of the trio at the bank robbery with their carefree and debonair mannerisms and couldn't bring herself to give the order. She knew it was stupid, that she should have brought the Gears and their possessors in, for their safety and those of others, right away. But seeing the looks on the girls' faces and the way they carried themselves, it sparked in Devi a sense of envy for that kind of life and a desire to protect their ability to live like that for as long as possible.

So she'd told Attie to hold off on taking action until she said so.

"The Hero Faction?" Devi asked angrily. She was angry alright, at herself. She'd kept her stance of letting the Void Gear girls be even though Attie had been reporting lately that Chaos Brigade's Hero Faction had been spotted in the areas the girls had themselves been sighted in the past. So if what she feared happened had really come to past then it was entirely her fault that people she could have saved had died. Again.

"Maybe." Tohru replied with a shrug. "Though it's likely considering what Attie has been saying lately."

Devi just nodded, getting up from her desk and marching out of her study. At the same time, she sent a telepathic message to her Peerage. _Ladies, I know it's late, but there's an emergency. Gather in my quarters as soon as you can. We need to hurry._

As she received affirmative acknowledgments from her Peerage, she turned to Tohru. "Do you have the coordinates?"

"Here" The ghost answered as she headed over a crystal. "The coordinates are encoded in there."

The Satan nodded as she quickly sent a pulse of her demonic power into the data crystal and read over the information within. Teleportation was complex and so were the coordinates used to direct such magic, having Tohru verbally inform her of the coordinates would have taken _days_. As such the sharing of teleportation information usually took the form of simply duplicating the teleportation vector of another teleport or using pre-recorded coordinates as a catalyst for a transport. And in both cases, it was always best to double check the safety of such a translocation.

By the time Devi was done reviewing the coordinates, her Peerage had gathered. Turning to them she briefed them via the hyperspeed telepathic connection the Peerage maintained thanks to the twins on the situation even as she used the data crystal as a catalyst for a teleportation circle.

_The Void Gear girls are in trouble._

_The Hero Faction?_ Ravel asked.

_No intel._ Devi replied succinctly. _Likely though. Expect potential hostile situation on the other side._

_Roger/Understood/Okay._ The girls sent back even as the teleportation circle finished forming.

Determined to somehow rectify the mess that her selfishness had created but simultaneously wary of what she'd find on the other end of her magic circle, Devi cautiously stepped through knowing her Peerage was at her back.

* * *

A world away and completely unaware of an incoming rescue, Jackie Mansford, wielder of the Void Gear [Death in the Dark], lay dying in a bank lobby with her murderer, a sword-wielding blonde girl, standing over her triumphantly. She was not typically one for reflection about her life but as there wasn't exactly much else _to_ do in her current situation, that's what she did.

* * *

20 year old Jacqueline "Jackie" Mansford was a beautiful girl. She was tall and had a well-proportioned body and long legs, which when combined with her back-length light brown hair turned many a head throughout her life. Not that Jackie paid her admirers much attention, most of her time was usually spent with her two best friends: 19 year old Belinda "Bonnie" Mayfield, a girl with straight, shoulder length platinum-blonde hair, green eyes, and fair skin; and the androgynous looking girl, with short hair that was dyed blue, gray eyes and slightly tanned skin that was 18 year old Clarissa "Clyde" Lewis.

Together, the trio of young women had lived normal lives in the middle of nowhere town of Springfield, Colorado.

The three had gotten to know each other when they'd met at their High School Shooting Club, where they had bonded over a love of guns and unpleasant home lives. Or as Bonnie liked to call it, "Not as shitty as some people's, but still not great".

Jackie was an orphan who lived with her aged grandparents, who while loving, were also sickly which meant Jackie had to look after them a lot, forcing her to take on adult responsibilities while only a teenager.

Bonnie on the other hand never knew her Father, while her mum left her with her sister and then disappeared. Bonnie's aunt resented being left to look after her and never really accepted her, though she was just distant and not unkind. Though she did complain half seriously that looking after a kid made it hard to find a guy to start her own family.

In Clyde's case, she was an unwanted child, whose conception forced her parents to get married. Because of this her family life was at best cold and her parents were never faithful to each other, which caused plenty of tension.

When Jackie turned 19, her Grandmother passed away leaving her with no family but with her house. Jackie had known her grandparents had been good with money, but to not leave her with any outstanding debts even with all their medical expenses, was something too good to imagine. But thanks to this, Jackie was able to offer Bonnie and Clyde the chance to move in with her once they finished high school. Something which the two readily accepted not only to spend more time with their friend but so the then couple could get a space to be intimate without their parentals finding out and becoming disapproving.

Bonnie and Clyde didn't work out, the two bisexuals ended up dating other people within weeks of moving in with Jackie, but all three managed to somehow remain the best of friends and continued being housemates and hanging out together.

It was whilst hanging out together one day while exploring an abandoned property at the edge of town that their lives were changed forever.

* * *

**Flashback start**

"Why are we doing this again, Jackie?" Bonnie asked sounding bored as they climbed out of Jackie's beat up old car.

"Because we decided to do some exploring?" Jackie shot back.

"The first day all three of us have off from work in weeks and we're spending it peeking at an abandoned old house? You sure know how to pick something fun, Jackie."

"Shove it, Bonnie." The group's leader growled out, losing her patience. "Coming here was Clyde's idea."

Bonnie leveled a glare at the third member of their group.

"I only suggested it." Clyde replied with a shrug. "I might be the brains of this group, but Jackie is the leader."

"Well? Leader?" Bonnie said turning her accusing eyes back to Jackie.

Jackie shrugged. "Not like there's anything better to do in town."

"That's true." Clyde acknowledged.

"Fine. But if something happens, I want it on the record that I think coming here was a bad idea." Bonnie said with a melodramatic sigh.

"A bad idea?" Jackie said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you just wanted to do something else?"

"It's close enough." Bonnie declared.

"It's not." Clyde said with a smirk. "Not really."

"Oh shut up. The both of you."

Jackie and Clyde just laughed.

Suddenly there was a flash of light from the abandoned house.

The girls freaked out.

"Did you two see that?" Bonnie yelled, almost hysterically.

"Yes." Clyde replied stiffly.

Well at least two of them were.

"Let's check it out." Jackie said sounding excited.

"Are you nuts?" Bonnie hissed in surprise.

"Oh come on. It's probably nothing, so what's there to worry about?" Jackie reassured.

"I'm going." Clyde suddenly spoke up.

"What? Clyde? Why?"

"I'm curious Bonnie. Besides, Jackie is right, it was probably nothing." Clyde said with a determined nod before heading off to the old house's backyard where the light came from. Jackie just gave Bonnie a gloating smirk and followed after their blue haired friend.

"If it's aliens and we get abducted. It's all on the two of you." Bonnie warned as she followed after her friends.

What the three friends lying on the grass behind that old ruin was unlike anything they'd ever seen before. They were three guns, something they loved. But they were also something else, they knew that from just a first glance. Or maybe it was the siren's call the weapons were having on them that drew the girls to them.

**Flashback end**

* * *

Those guns changed the girls' lives.

As soon as the girls had touched the guns, a bond was forged between them and the weapons. From this bond they'd learned they were no ordinary guns at all, instead they were Void Gears, magical artifacts created by the Satan Mammon to duplicate the similar artifacts created by the Biblical God known as Sacred Gears. The three guns were apparently the only Void Gears ever made before the Satan had lost interest in the project, which made each one unique.

Jackie had ended up bonding with the Void Gear [Death in the Dark], a gun that could transform into any firearm imaginable, even those out of her fantasies, as per her wishes and fired blasts of pure void energy. The bonding also awakened her abilities as a Heroic Descendant of Calamity Jane, something that she'd heard her grandparents talk about but never really believed, which granted her exceptional accuracy with a gun and great skill at scouting.

Clyde bonded with the [Black Maw Cannon], a bazooka shaped weapon with decorations that made it look like the maw of a giant black dragon. It fired homing void beams more powerful than either of those that Jackie or Bonnie's weapons could but had a 60 seconds recharge time between shots

Bonnie got the short end of the stick, in the group's opinion, since her Void Gear [Rapid Death Dealer], was just a tommy gun that shot rapid fire void blasts. No special ability, no granting of special powers. Its only good point compared to [Death in the Dark] and [Black Maw Cannon] was that it had the highest rate of fire.

Giddy on the power the new hardware gave them, the trio decided it was time to ditch boring old Springfield and their dreary lives there. So taking up the name "Calamity Slingers" in homage to Jackie's ancestor and their planned gunslinging lifestyle, the three young women took to the road. For six months, the Slingers made themselves a menace to the law throughout the United States as they used their new powers to rob bank after bank and evade capture.

Which was what brought them to the shitty situation where in the middle of a heist, the trio suddenly found themselves confronted by a bunch of crazies with even more crazy powers which offered them the cliche ultimatum of joining them or die.

Being the overconfident idiots they were, the Slingers said no.

What followed was a hilariously short fight, if it could be called that, where the girls had barely managed to let off a handful of shots before their enemies had closed to melee and tore into them. A well-built giant of a man that literally glowed with strength had punched Bonnie and Clyde so hard that explosions, literal explosions, had sent them flying before they fell back to earth dead from the blows. Jackie hadn't fared any better as a blonde swordswoman had stabbed her so many times, so fast and so hard, that she'd collapsed in an instant.

* * *

As she finished recounting in her mind the way her life had ended up the way it had, Jackie begun to feel her life slipping away.

_Damn it! It can't end like this!_

Just as her vision faded completely she saw a burst of darkness suddenly appear out of nowhere and deposit a beautiful young woman with waist length black hair and startling orange eyes.

_Dunno whose side she's on, but I hope she kicks their-_

* * *

As Devi cautiously stepped out of the magic circle at the indicated location, she couldn't help but feel her wariness was justified. For arrayed around what looked to be a bank lobby, with two of its members standing over the corpses of her Void Gears' possessors - who were still clutching their weapons - were none other than the Chaos Brigade's Hero Faction.

Before the humans could react, Devi casually conjured a sphere of void around the head of a blonde girl she recalled from Attie's intel reports was supposedly the inheritor of Joan of Arc's spirit, instantly decapitating her.

To his credit, Cao Cao, obviously healed from their last encounter, reacted quickly. "Take cover! Georg, get us out of here!"

His order came just in time, as a barrage of lasers from the twins' still deploying drone swarm zeroed in on their positions. A white haired swordsman tried to weather the storm of fire by deflecting them with his swords, only to have the drones redirect their fire and hit from blind spots. Impressively, he managed to avoid serious injury even as he was driven into cover like his compatriots.

Their magician, Georg, a descendant of Johann Georg Faust and possessor of the Longinus Dimension Lost made to summon a magic circle to allow for their escape but quickly ran into the blocking ward that Devi had thrown up. "She's blocking us. Buy me time!"

A number of the 'heroes', they were disgraces to that title in Devi's opinion, seemed ready to attack, but quickly dove back under cover when the lobby was suddenly turned into a shooting gallery as the twins finished summoning their drone swarm and the rate of their suppressive fire increased ten fold.

"Their lasers are eating through our cover! Georg, shields!" One of the humans shouted.

A monster leapt through the chaos of the lobby to attack Ravel but stopped mid way there and instead leapt back the way it came as the twins mind controlled the creature.

_You'll have to do better than that Annihilation Maker._ Devi mocked as she moved over to stand over the corpse of the girl who had been [Death in the Dark]'s possessor. A look of regret spreading across her face as she gazed at the corpse.

"Leonardo, don't create anymore monsters." Cao Cao commanded, just as a series of magical barriers snapped into place in front of the humans. "Your monsters aren't protected against her telepaths! They'll just control them and turn them against us."

"Cao Cao," The magician cried out, his voice strained. Obviously fighting through her ward while shielding his comrades was taking its toll. "I can't teleport us through her ward, it's somehow blocking Dimension Lost too! Not while keeping up these shields at the same time. The lasers are too strong! What do we do?"

"Can't we run through the doors?" A wall of muscle asked.

"She's toying with us." Cao Cao announced. "If we did that she'll finish us off before we get out of the building."

_Smart of him to know that._ Ravel smugly observed.

_You do realize Ravel, that he's talking about his men and not himself?_ The twins chimed in.

_You two can read his mind?_ Valerie asked. _He doesn't have the jamming wards?_

_No. We just judged that was his meaning based on the intel on his combat ability._

"Georg, just be quick about it." Cao Cao ordered after a moment of deliberation.

"Right. Get ready everyone!"

_Pathetic! Verbal communication?_ Ravel disparaged. _Don't they know we can eavesdrop on them?_

_Not everyone has telepathy._ The twins observed.

_But telepathy can be imitated with magic._ Valerie commented even as she sent Ravel a plan to exploit whatever the 'heroes' planned on doing to escape. _So that they aren't using it is just them being sloppy._

Any further conversation, even the hyperspeed one of the Peerage's telepathic network, was cut short as Georg's shields went down and magic circles appeared under each of the Chaos Brigaders.

Unfortunately for the humans, this was exactly the moment that Valerie was waiting for and in one smooth motion she ripped a massive chunk of the floor free and threw it at one of them. The hulking two metre tall man was the biggest target and this was his undoing, as it made him Valerie's choice of victim. While the attack itself didn't hurt him much, it did cause him to stumble out of the magic circle that would have taken him to safety even as his comrades escaped. Not that he had time to notice, as he was promptly hit by a flaming drill of air courtesy of Ravel and killed.

Seeing the wonderful display of teamwork that her Peerage had just exhibited, Devi felt a small burst of pride even amidst the gloom of her latest failure.

Sweeping her eyes over the corpses, Valerie hesitantly asked, "Now what to do we do about them?"

"I say let me burn those pieces of trash." Ravel said gesturing towards the two dead Chaos Brigaders. "But those Void Gear users? Maybe resurrect them?"

Devi's head shot up then. _Why hadn't I thought of that?_

_Because you were too busy beating yourself up for 'getting them killed'?_ Ravel shot back exasperatedly.

_But I did._

_No you didn't._ The twins chimed in. _Your inaction might have affected things but in the end it was their own actions and those of the Hero Faction which led to their deaths._

_They agree with that._ Valerie cut in before Devi could reply. _I'm talking to their souls right now, so I can say that with certainty. By the way, before you even ask they want to live._

Devi nodded and summoned the necessary Evil Pieces, 4 Pawns for the girl she was still standing over and 2 each for the other two.

With the artifacts in hand, Devi set out to rectify at least _this_ mistake. It was a small step, but hopefully one in the right direction to atone for her failings.

* * *

**AN:**

**So we meet a trio new character worth a description this chapter, as usual here are their inspirations for reference.**

**Jacqueline "Jackie" Mansford: Kirino Kousaka from** **Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai**

**Belinda "Bonnie" Mayfield: Shiemi Moriyama from** **Ao no Exorcist**

**Clarissa "Clyde" Lewis: Naoto Shirogane from Persona 4**

**Ok. Now onto things I actually want to discuss. First, the content I chose to include in this chapter. Now why did I end where I did and not say after the Kuoh Summit arc, where it might have been more organic? Well, two reasons: 1) The somewhat petty desire of mine to maintain a relative continuity in terms of chapter length per chapter; 2) I want to put across the concept that serves as the chapter's title, escalation. Contrary to what most people believe, it's not a one way slope, at least not when applied to a conflict, and in fact waxes and wanes. Hence the much lower key fight in the bank to contrast the more grand fights earlier in the chapter against Kokabiel and at the Kuoh Summit.**

**Another thing I wanted to discuss is the Kuoh Summit. As you might have noticed, my version is very different from canon, which for someone like me which could be classed as a canon purist is quite peculiar. But frankly, my view on the canon version of the Summit was crap. I mean wasting time at a conference between your Factions hearing out the views of nobodies? Seriously? (Any yes, in the grand scheme of things at this point even Vali is still a nobody since he's not made a name for himself yet) Is that what leaders do? Sure, I have the leaders lighthearted enough to allow the antics of Devi's love life distract them from business but they** _ **do**_ **still focus on business i.e. hearing out what happened in the Kokabiel Incident and the drafting of a peace treaty between their Factions.**

**A third thing I want to talk about is Cap Cao's low key appearance, which is deliberate on my part. Chaos Brigade is kinda hopelessly divided. In light of that, interfering with the Old Satan Faction's plan to attack the Kuoh Summit would be too politically dicey for the Hero Faction. It would make it seem like they supported the Old Satans which is directly counter to their own ideology of human supremacy. So to satisfy his own desire for a challenge against a warrior Satan [unlike Sirzechs who hasn't fought seriously in a while] he basically sneaked in, it's why he's alone and why he held back by not using his Longinus' subspecies abilities.**

**Hmm… Almost forgot about this point. Kokabiel and how easily he got roflstomped. Yeah, that happened. Before you complain, keep in mind a few things: 1) Devi is a Super Devil, so don't compare her against Issei's canon performance against Kokabiel [which I'd point out was when Issei was quite the weakling], but a hypothetical Kokabiel vs. Ajuka Beelzebub [the same dude who wiped out Ultimate and High-Class devils without getting out of his chair!]; 2) Devi has already noted in the past that Kokabiel is a weakling. She wasn't being self-aggrandizing there. She was being honest in that relative to her and other top tier players, he's a weakling.**

**That's it I think.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	6. Gods and Parties and Alliances, Oh My!

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Gods and Parties and Alliances, Oh My!**

Every ten years, the Devils of the Underworld organized an event known as the Young Devils Gathering. It was designed to be an opportunity for the youth of Devilkind to measure themselves against their peers, while at the same time showcasing their strength, both in terms of personal ability and that of their Peerage, to broader Devil society through a Rating Game tournament.

To Devi, who being new to the Evil Piece and Rating Game system technically qualified as a 'Young Devil', the whole thing was a farce. In her opinion, there was absolutely no reason why anyone would be foolish enough to reveal the extent of their abilities. Even a watered down version of it, that most prudent participants would exhibit, was too risky. Not just for status. Not when foolishly letting one's potential enemies know such vital information could prove deadly.

Why then was Devi and her Peerage currently decked in ball gowns and attending said event as it was being held in a lavish ballroom in Palace of the Satans in the Devil's capital, Lilith?

Two reasons.

Firstly, the other Satans had bribed her to attend with the promise of new information on the Chaos Brigade. While Attie was truly one of the greatest spymasters in the world, she was hardly infallible and there were times that she failed to get a hold of vital information. Now was one such occasion. Attie still had leads on the Chaos Brigade and their activities of course, but no immediate actionable intelligence. Something which the other Satans had apparently acquired somehow, Attie had not been able to figure out how either much to her frustration, and had offered to provide it to Devi in exchange for her participation in the Young Devils Gathering.

Frankly, that alone was not enough to have convinced to attend the event. Unfortunately, there was another more important, in her mind at least, reason why she _had_ to attend. Namely her wife, Ravel, wanted to do so. In the lead up to the event, the former Phenex had gotten so excited at the prospect of showing up at the event on the arm of a Satan and the Queen of her powerful Peerage that she had almost literally bounced along the palace's corridors. In the face of that and no objections from the rest of her Peerage who were largely disinterested about the whole thing, though thoroughly amused by Ravel's antics, Devi caved and agreed to go.

But only on _her_ terms. She had had enough of dancing to other's tunes and if she was going to do something she didn't want to then she'd only accept doing so if her conditions were met first. That was non-negotiable. Which was why when the invitation to the event arrived along with the other Satans' offer of a bribe, Devi had shot back demanding to be allowed to attend the event incognito and for none of them to blow her cover. To her surprise, the other Satans had agreed at once, with Serafall even including a note saying that "Of course, we'd let you do what you want Devi-chan~. We just think you'll like coming to a party for once. So if it makes you more comfortable, it's perfectly fine if you come in disguise."

The new Satans really were good kids.

And it was thanks to their kindness that Mammon and her Peerage had arrived shrouded in layers of glamours that made everyone around them confused as to their identity. They didn't make them seem like someone else, just made it difficult for others to recognize precisely who they were. Taking on another's appearance, even that of an assumed identity forged for the purposes of such, was somewhat distasteful to Devi. It seemed too much like putting on a mask for other people's sake and went against her desire to be free. She might tolerate glamours to allow her to keep a low profile but outright assuming a form not her own was, to her, beyond the pale. Besides the plan was to drop the glamours at the end of the event to give Ravel the chance to revel in the limelight like she wanted.

The Mammon Peerage had arrived fashionably late so by the time they'd shown up the party was already in full swing. As such, the group had to squeeze through the crowds a little before finally claiming a small corner of the hall next to a refreshment table for themselves.

Once everyone was settled, Ravel made to leave, "I'm going to find Riser."

"What for?" Devi asked curiously, Ravel hadn't mentioned any plans about doing so beforehand. "And is he even here today?"

"He is, I checked with Father already." Ravel replied, neatly evading her wife's first question. "He might not be as young as most of the others here, but this event is only held every ten years so since he didn't have a Peerage before the last one, he's still technically a Young Devil." A teasing smile spread across her face as she added, "Just like you are, Devi~!"

Devi pouted and playfully reached over to swat her wife, but Ravel pirouetted away, giggling all the while even as she disappeared into the crowds in search of her brother.

"Should one of us follow her?" Jackie asked worriedly.

"No need for that." Devi replied confidently, even as she took to scanning the crowds. "Ravel can take care of herself and if she does run into anything she can't handle she'll call for us."

Jackie nodded uncertainly.

"As for the rest of us," Devi said as she spotted who she was looking for. "There's someone I want to talk to, so I'm off. You're all free to do what you want to, though someone should probably stay here to save our spot. I think it's a good idea to have a place where we can relax if we get tired of mingling."

"I'll stay." Valerie said quickly. "I don't like the idea of mingling with a whole crowd of strangers."

"Agreed. We'll stay too." The twins chimed in.

"You two are staying only because you're put off that you can't read their minds, aren't you?" Valerie teased.

"That's not true." The twins replied even as they blushed.

As her Rook and Bishops descended into a friendly squabble, Devi turned to her Pawns. "What about you three?"

The three exchanged looks, before Bonnie strode forward and shyly asked, "You mind if we stuck with you? We're still kinda nervous about the whole being a Devil thing and," She gestured at the other partygoers. "While we aren't exactly worried about talking to strangers. Strange Devils, when we don't even fully know what that means for ourselves? Yeah, we'd like to avoid that."

Behind her Jackie and Clyde nodded.

Devi could understand. The trio had only been Devils for a little under a month and were still adjusting, a process made harder by knowing almost nothing about the supernatural before their resurrection.

"You three could avoid the crowds by staying here." Devi gestured to Valerie and the twins who were still squabbling.

"And put up with them arguing the whole time?" Clyde asked sarcastically. "I mean, I know those three don't mean anything by it, but it's still uncomfortable standing there listening to them trade barbs, you know?"

Devi nodded, Clyde had a point.

"Alright then." Devi conceded. "Stay close and I'll keep the other nasty Devils and their cooties away."

"Hey!" The Mammon Pawns protested simultaneously, even as they dutifully followed their King off into the party.

* * *

"Riser!" Ravel shouted as she finally spotted her brother sulking in a corner with his Queen, Yubelluna. The two of them nursing glasses of whiskey.

Turning at the sound of his name, the youngest Phenex son leveled a glare at Ravel.

"Who are you and what do you want?" He hissed, angrily. "Come to rub in my humiliation for my own stupidity like everyone else?"

Ravel blinked in confusion. _Riser doesn't recognize me? Doh! The glamours._

"Riser it's me, Ravel. I'm wearing a glamour."

"Lady Ravel?" Yubelluna sneered disbelieving. "A likely story."

"Exactly. Ravel wouldn't be here today. Her wife hates these kind of things with a passion, and there's no way that Lady Devi would let Ravel come alone."

_That was actually pretty sound reasoning. Too bad he underestimates my power of persuasion._

"That makes sense I guess. But Devi is here too. I convinced her to come." Ravel said, even as she held up her hand to signal to the two not to interrupt. "Look, let me prove who I am, ok? I won't drop the glamour, Devi will be upset if we're outed again. But I think I have something that'll prove exactly who I am."

With that she conjured a number of flaming constructs in the shape of a phoenix and a number of other iconic supernatural creatures and had them act out a skit like she used to do as a child.

"I started doing this to practice my powers when I was a little girl." Ravel explained. "But Mother and Father thought it was entertaining so I started doing it for them and the rest of the family to see too."

Mesmerized by the constructs, Ravel always had a knack for fine control and could create truly impressive things with her flames, Riser absently continued the explanation, "You were too embarrassed about using your powers basically to play, so you never showed this off to anyone outside the family."

"Lady Ravel? It's really you?" Yubelluna gasped as Ravel cut off the display.

"Of course." Ravel huffed as she crossed her arms in annoyance.

"You managed to get Lady Devi to agree to bring you?" Riser asked in amazement.

"Yup." Ravel declared proudly.

"But why did you come, yourself, Lady Ravel?"

"Simple, Yubelluna. I'm here to make sure my brother of mine does the gentlemanly thing he's somehow forgotten to do all these months." Ravel said as she eyed Riser accusingly.

"What are you talk-"

"You haven't apologized to Rias Gremory about your treatment of her, have you?"

Riser gulped.

"Well-"

"We've tried, Lady Ravel," Yubelluna jumped in, in defense of her King. "This is the kind of apology that needs to be made in person, but Lady Gremory has been too preoccupied lately to receive us-"

"That's enough, Yubelluna." Riser cut off his Queen. "There's no need to lie. Rias has been busy, but not that busy. The only reason we've not apologized yet is because I've been to spineless to do so. It's why I'm here drinking, trying to build up some liquid courage, rather than going to see her."

"At least you can admit it." Ravel said with a satisfied nod. "Then let's go."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. Would you rather wait for the end of the world, brother?"

Riser looked hesitant for a moment, before taking a deep breath and gathering his determination headed off, his sister and Queen following behind him. The former looking concerned while the latter just smiled smugly.

It took the trio a short while, made slightly longer due to an altercation between Seekvaira Agares, Zephyrdor Glasya-Labolas and Sairaorg Bael, to find Rias Gremory.

"Rias," Riser greeted politely. "It's good to see you."

"Riser." The Gremory heiress replied coldly. Her Peerage too seemed to take note of the meeting, as they all suddenly seemed unnaturally focused on their King.

Riser winced at her tone, but with Ravel glaring daggers in his back, he soldiered on. "Look, I know we aren't on the best of terms. But I'm here to try to fix that."

"Go on."

"I would like to apologize, Rias. For any and all offense that I ever gave you in the past." The Gremory girl looked surprised by that. "As my sister and her wife pointed out to me I was a misogynistic ass and treated you terribly. I can't be sorry enough about that."

The Gremory heiress was speechless for a long moment, and Ravel lost patience.

"Just accept his apology already!"

Blinking in surprise, the girl turned to face Ravel, clearly upset that a nobody had just butted into her private conversation. "Who are you?"

_Stupid glamours._

Ravel was about to explain who she was again, when Yubelluna stepped in. "That's Lady Ravel. She's wearing one of Satan Mammon's glamours."

The Gremory girl's eyes widened as she realized she'd just been quite rude to a Satan's consort. "My apologies, Lady Ravel. I didn't recognize you."

Ravel waved her off, "Don't worry about it. You're not the first person today that's been rude to me just because they think I'm a nobody under this glamour. At least, you had the excuse of being distracted by a tense conversation."

"You have my thanks for your understanding."

"Yes, yes." Ravel said dismissively, before growing serious. "Now about Big Brother Riser's apology?"

Turning to Riser, the girl looked at him searchingly. "Riser, you're being sincere?"

"Yes. I've been beating myself up about this for months looking for the best time and way to apologize. But I came up with nothing."

"And Lady Ravel?"

"Made me realize that there was no such things and I should just do it."

Gremory nodded.

"Then I accept your apology, Riser," turning to Ravel she continued. "And offer you my thanks Lady Ravel."

Ravel just shrugged, to her it was nothing. Just her doing what was right.

Gremory turned back to Riser and with a smile commented, "You have a good sister, Riser."

"The best." Riser agreed, as Yubelluna nodded.

Ravel smiled brilliantly at the compliments. It was good to have her worth recognized.

"I'm sorry, Riser, but I really do need to go. Talk to you later?" Gremory said sounding almost, but not quite genuine.

Ravel was sure Riser picked up on it, but graciously didn't make a fuss. "It's no problem. Go have fun."

With a nod in farewell, the Gremory girl walked off.

* * *

While Ravel was doing her sisterly duty and ensuring her brother apologized for his past actions, Devi was searching the crowd for a certain someone. Trailing behind her, her Pawns eyed the crowds nervously even as they chatted amongst themselves.

"I'm a little worried about my Aunt." Bonnie confessed. "How about you Clyde? Worried about your parents?"

"Yeah." Clyde admitted. "We might not be on the best terms but they're still family."

"Don't worry too much, girls. Remember, as I've told you, I've already arranged for them to get discreet protection." Devi reassured them.

"I know, but what if someone powerful, like those Chaos Brigade folks, go after them?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

"I assure you that their protectors can handily deal with the Hero Faction, and can at least spirit your families to safety in the unlikely event of an even more dangerous threat knocking on their door."

"Just who do you have protecting them that can do that, Ma'am?" Jackie asked curiously. "I might not have family that needs protecting but I do want to know, and Bonnie and Clyde definitely do."

The aforementioned girls nodded.

"The Buffalo Man owes me a couple of favors." Devi smirked mysteriously. "And so long as it's within North America, I'd like to see _anyone_ being able to match his power."

The girls exchanged looks.

"The Buffalo Man?" Clyde finally asked, sounding skeptical.

"That's what we call him. He has no proper name, unless you call him North America. But he hates that." Devi explained.

Bonnie and Jackie looked confused.

"You have the embodiment of the continent of North America itself protecting our families?" Clyde asked in awe.

Devi just nodded, as her other two Pawns caught on and joined their friend in gaping at their King.

Just as the trio recovered, Devi spotted her surprisingly elusive quarry and speed-walked to intercept him forcing the girls to sprint to keep up. While that meant they were out of breath to express their gratitude verbally, they were quite verbose about it telepathically.

So much so that Devi had to shush them as she engaged the boy she had been hunting down in conversation, to avoid being overly distracted.

"Greetings Hyoudou Issei," Devi addressed the young Red Dragon Emperor politely.

The teenager looked startled by the sudden greeting by someone he didn't recognize.

"Err… Hello… Err…" The low class Devil eyed Devi up and down for a moment before zeroing in on her breasts for a moment and then looking her straight in her eyes. "Satan Devora-sama!"

Devi's Pawns who had just been feeling offended on their King's behalf as the boy leered at her bust, were shocked into silence.

Devi herself was just amused.

"You figured out who I was through my glamours just by looking at my breasts?"

"Of course! I never forget a set of breasts." The pervert declared seriously. "And your glamour thingy didn't change it, right?"

"No, they didn't change my appearance at all. Just hinders recognition. It takes a great deal of familiarity to figure out who I am through them without being told who I am." Devi explained, before adding curiously, "Though I would like to know what about my breasts you found familiar enough to beat my glamours so effortlessly."

"As I said, I never forget a set of breasts that I've seen. And each is unique. They each have their own special size, shape and way that they fit into a woman's figure." Hyoudou lectured. "Details that I remember down to the last micrometre. So of course I'm familiar enough with your breasts to see through your glamour thingy."

"Fascinating." Devi honestly commented, she found it laudable that the boy had put in so much effort into his breasts obsession, which as a given would have to be a great deal to reach such a level. Perhaps it was not the most productive hobby, but Devi found his commitment to it praiseworthy at least. Besides, she wasn't exactly innocent of being a pervert herself, as Ravel and the twins could attest, so she had no room to judge. Though personally she looked at the whole package more than any individual body part.

Her Pawns though didn't seem to share her open mindedness and openly balked at the sheer amount of perversity someone would need to have to reach the levels the boy was talking about.

"But I didn't come here to talk to you about breasts," Devi announced.

"Then-"

"I came here to give you this." Devi said cutting the boy off and drew a crimson octahedral ruby the size of a fist out from a magic circle.

"Wha-"

Again cutting the young Devil off, Devi explained. "This is something I made recently from a scale of the Welsh Dragon's that I acquired fighting him during his rampage in the Great War. I'm returning it to Ddraig. Summon your Boosted Gear."

Nodding Hyoudou did so and Devi promptly placed the ruby over the emerald at the back of the gauntlet's hand. For a moment, the emerald glowed green and the ruby a deep red before the latter slowly but surely disappeared into the former.

"There. It's been assimilated into your Sacred Gear, Ddraig." Devi said as she turned and began walking away.

"But what does it do?" A bewildered Red Dragon Emperor called after her, but Devi ignored him. Letting the boy figure things out for himself was half the fun.

* * *

Shortly after that, the Mammon Peerage regrouped at the little corner they'd claimed.

"So you had Riser apologize to Gremory." Devi observed.

"I did." Ravel replied with a nod. "And you gave her Pawn, the [Scale]."

"So we're all done here? We can go?" Valerie asked hopefully.

"Not yet." Devi replied apologetically. "We have to at least wait until Odin formally signs the alliance monument first. Then show ourselves. That was the deal I made with the other Satans."

That and Devi wanted to make sure that the signing of the alliance between the Three Factions and the Norse pantheon, which was what this iteration of the Young Devils Gathering was doubling as, went off without a hitch. It was after all both a momentous and controversial occasion, being that it was the first time in history that forces from two clearly distinct mythologies would formally join into a long term alliance. Admittedly, such intermyth alliances had existed before, but they were always informal affairs designed to deal with immediate short term concerns like a common enemy or crisis. But this alliance, while spurred by the immediate threat of the Chaos Brigade was drafted as a binding long term alliance and was thus completely game changing.

That some, like Chaos Brigade, would want to disrupt its formation was a given.

It therefore came as no surprise to Devi when just as Odin was about to sign the monument serving as the testament to the alliance, that his fellow Norse god Loki showed up uninvited to voice his objection.

As the Norse god of evil and the other Faction leaders postured and traded barbs, Devi calmly begun moving her Peerage into position for the inevitable fight.

_Twins stay with me._ The Satan commanded. _Don't begin summoning your drones till he makes a move, we don't want to look like the aggressors here. But once he does, flood the hall with them. They can harass him without risking anyone on our side._

_Pawns, Val, focus on helping to evacuate the hall and keeping everyone safe. This is a god, he's out of the weight class of almost everyone here. You three included. So do not engage him!_ Devi ordered the former Calamity Slingers and Valerie by the diminutives they had all agreed upon during team training.

_The Gremory girl and two of her Peerage, including the Red Dragon Emperor are missing._ Ravel noted. _Drawn away? The King and the dragon are two of our heavy hitters._

_Don't forget we have three Super Devils and Odin on our side here._ Devi reminded. _So no, they probably got dragged away for some other reason. We can worry about it later. We have a evil god to deal with at the moment._

_Right._ Ravel noted sounding chastised. _So what should I do?_

_Set up a triage point. I know you hate me saying this but-_

_He's a god. I know when I'm outclassed._ Ravel admitted, though she nevertheless sounded disappointed she wouldn't be fighting.

_Don't worry, you're not the only one._ Valerie reassured. _The Pawns and I will make sure to send you any wounded we come across._

_Do that._ Devi ordered, even as she sent Valerie a burst of gratitude for covering her oversight.

The Satan's attention was drawn away from coordinating her Peerage though when she heard Azazel accuse Loki of allying with the Chaos Brigade.

"I have allied with them." Loki admitted easily. "All so as to usher in Ragnarok."

Devi felt her blood boil at Loki's casual admittance of his affiliation with her hated enemies, but managed, barely, to keep her cool. She knew losing her temper now and acting rashly would only complicate an already precarious situation. For while on the surface, Loki was hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, he was also in a position to kill hundreds of young Devils before any of the other great powers in the room could intervene.

Devi would not let her temper cause the loss of hundreds of lives.

The Satan had just calmed down when the situation imploded as Loki summoned his son Fenrir and sent him on the attack. The monstrous wolf easily dealt with the Devil guards that tried to engage in, but it didn't have such an easy time with hundreds of their combat drones that the Iwakura twins had begun summoning into the hall the moment it had appeared. The drones couldn't hurt it much, it's hide was proving resistant, to their lasers, but they were irritating the monster enough to make it want to avoid them.

Which it did by leaping to the arched ceiling, dislodging large chunks of stonework, and using it as a springboard to jump back down so as to crash into a panicked crowd of fleeing young Devils. As the stonework fell towards earth right on top of Rias Gremory's bishops, her Queen saved them by disintegrating the debris with a powerful burst of lightning. Unfortunately, this display of power earned the Japanese girl the murderous attention of the God-Devouring Wolf who leapt at her, avoiding a focused blast from the twins' drones.

The young Devil girl was saved however when Baraqiel, Vice-Governor General of the Grigori, a 10 winged middle-aged, gruff-looking Fallen Angel with black hair, matching beard and a muscular body stepped protectively in between her and the prophesied god killer. He blasted the beast with a bolt of his famed holy lightning and sent it reeling.

"Fo-" Loki managed before he cut himself off in shock.

For just as he was about to deride his opponents, presumably for thinking that their petty attacks could truly harm his son, one attack slammed into his monstrous offspring that left it a bloody mess.

Devi had taken advantage of Fenrir's reaction to Baraqiel's attack and the opening it offered by launching one of her own. Dropping her glamours, spreading her wings and bringing all her power to bear, she launched a massive salvo of void missiles at the massive wolf, tearing large chunks of flesh from its side and sending it crashing to the ground.

Seeing his son so hurt, Loki snapped and his powers surged around him.

"Mammon!" The Norse god snarled as he turned to attack her.

Devi was ready for him but before either combatant could make a move, Loki and the grievously wounded Fenrir abruptly found themselves encased in a pyramid of energy.

"Beelze-!" Loki's furious voice cut off as Ajuka's teleportation trap transported him and his son away.

* * *

In the aftermath of Loki's attack, the leaders of the newly forged alliance of the Three Factions and the Norse met to discuss how to proceed. Despite her personal desire, to just pursue the rogue god and kill him herself, Devi knew her duty and so attended.

There it was decided that a punitive force be readied to face Loki and seal him away. Odin having successfully argued that killing him would likely just engender dissent towards the new alliance within his Faction which in turn could endanger its existence. Considering that the leader of the Norse gods also chose to unilaterally and without prompting take responsibility for Loki's actions, the other leaders were agreeable with this compromise.

With that settled, talk had turned to who to send to face the evil god when the seal that Ajuka had revealed was an inherent part of his trap failed. Devi and Falbium Asmodeus, master tactician and the de facto overall leader of the Devil military, had wanted to deploy armies to slay him. But were overruled by the others who felt it would be a reckless waste of life and that instead a strategic strike by powerful individuals would suffice. Devi had again volunteered but was shot down by Azazel who chided her on being overeager to bash Chaos Brigade heads, while also pointing out that sending a Satan and a Super Devil at that to solve all their problems was sending a bad signal. It could after all be seen by outsiders as a sign that the rank and file of their alliance were weak.

In the end, it was decided that select members of the Gremory and Sitri Peerages alongside a newly resurrected angel and Odin's valkyrie bodyguard would serve as a vanguard force to intercept Loki when the seal failed. Most of the support based and weaker members of the two Peerages, such as their bishops and most of Sitri's except for herself, her Queen and one of her Pawns by the name Genshiro Saji, were left behind. The vanguard were to hold until Mjolnir, which Odin had ordered prepared for use back in Valhalla, arrived. After which they were to either use it to seal Loki directly or buy time for the main force, a select group of Peerages and troops form the alliance armies, could arrive to do the deed.

As the force departed, the leaders congregated in a meeting room in the Palace of the Satans to watch the battle.

"I'm impressed that your scrying magic is good enough to allow real-time viewing of an ongoing battle." Odin commented as he settled into a seat.

"We have Devi's engineers to thank for that." Sirzechs said as he gestured to his fellow Satan. "They developed the techniques involved during the Great War. We've just refined them since."

"It was this or live with not knowing what was happening with my troops at the frontlines." Devi replied with a dismissive shrug. "As for your refinements, Tohru says they're crap."

"She would." Ajuka said with a laugh. "I've examined some of her latest work in the field. It is light years ahead of our own."

"Admitting to being outclassed, Ajuka?" Falbium asked as he leaned back in a chair, a look of lazy contentment on his face, not betraying at all the fact that they were all about to bear witness to an important battle.

None of the leaders were actually.

They had all been in this situation before, and knew full well that giving into the tension would do no good. A fact that threw the less experienced of the room's occupants for a loop.

"I've brought the refreshments!" Serafall announced as she led in a troop of servants with pushcarts laden with said refreshments.

"Go ahead and take some girls. It'll help with the nerves." Devi told her Peerage, who nodded and did as told. When Ravel and the twins were on their way back to their original seats with some drinks, Devi summoned her wings and drew them into the oversized chair she had deliberately chosen earlier. Her lovers were surprised but adapted quickly and were soon snuggling with their King.

Unnoticed by Devi, both Valerie and Bonnie shot the scene longing looks.

"A lesbian harem indeed." Azazel chuckled at the display, while the other leaders shot Devi their own amused looks.

"I like being comfortable for this kind of thing." Devi replied with a shrug. "And nothing is more comfortable than snuggling with one's lovers."

_Agreed._ Devi's lovers sent over the Peerage's telepathic network so as not to disrupt the proceedings, such as it was, of the alliance leader's meeting.

Falbium looked ready to disagree when Michael, the most serious of the leaders and the only one overtly giving the scryed image his full attention, spoke up.

"It's starting."

Just as Micheal observed, the screen showed Ajuka's seal had collapsed and revealed a coldly furious Loki and a fully healed Fenrir.

"Looks like he took the time to heal that son of his." Odin mused.

"And now he's summoned his grandchildren, Hati and Skoll too." Sirzechs noted.

The evil god was not finished though and followed that summoning up by also calling down his other son, the Dragon Kind Midgardsormr.

"What?" Serafall exclaimed in surprise. "Lord Odin, is that the real Midgardsormr? My understanding was that he is too lazy and uncaring about his father to be involved with something like this."

Devi could only nod at that assessment, it was what Attie's own reports suggested.

"You'd be right, Serafall." Odin reassured. "That is only a clone."

_Magic can be used to clone things?_ Bonnie sent, questioningly.

_Yes._ Valerie replied, a little uncomfortable with the idea of clones since technically her Sacred Gear allowed her to do just that.

"It may be a clone, but it is one based on one of the Five Great Dragon Kings. It will not be an easy opponent to defeat." Falbium pointed out.

As if to prove the Asmodeus' point, the clone sent a powerful fire blast at Sona Sitri's Queen, Tsubaki Shinra. To the surprise of almost everyone, except Serafall, the blast was reflected.

"That was the power of her Sacred Gear." Michael observed. "Mirror Alice."

"Yup. It creates a mirror that if destroyed reflects double the damage back at the attacker." Azazel helpfully added on.

_Nifty ability._ Bonnie sent feeling a little dejected. _Wish my [Rapid Death Dealer] gave me a cool power._

"Impressive." Devi noted.

_As are you, Bonnie._ Devi reassured her Pawn. _It is not the Gear which makes the user but the other way around._

"Not just the Gear's ability itself but that her mirror, which is dependent on her own ability, was able to deflect that blast at all."

_Just like how it's you who makes [Rapid Death Dealer] the most rapid firing weapon of its caliber._

_Thanks, Boss._ Bonnie sent back feeling a little better.

"Indeed." Odin said as he stroked his beard approvingly. "Even though it is just a clone, as Falbium noted, with Midgardsormr as its base, it is still plenty powerful."

"Exactly! Isn't my Sona-tan~'s Queen incredible?" Serafall crowed.

"Not as much as my Ravel." Devi countered, as she ran her hand through her wife's hair, earning her a pleased purr.

_And what about us?_ The twins peevishly asked.

_You, my twins, are wonderful too. But we_ are _talking about Queens, right now._

"Or my Grayfia." Sirzechs added his two cents as he sent his Queen and wife a loving look, only for said wife to level him with a disapproving glare.

Sirzechs was saved from an embarrassing punishment from his wife by a distracting burst of light from the scrying screen. Rias Gremory's Queen had just revealed, not that anyone there did not already know about it, her heritage as a former Fallen Angel/Human hybrid and daughter of Baraqiel by combining the Holy Lightning she inherited from her father with her own lightning magic to great effect.

"That's quite the attack." Odin observed.

"At least thrice as powerful as her normal ones." Ajuka said as he ran some quick calculations on his portable computer. "At least."

_Hmm… Think we could ever become that powerful?_ The twins who had just started studying lightning magic pondered.

_Maybe in a few years._ Ravel offered. _You guys just started learning, after all._

"And they have the wolves contained too." Serafall noted. "At this rate, they might actually win this before the main force arrives."

"I doubt it." Falbium drawled.

"What!?" Devi exclaimed as she saw Sitri's Pawn suddenly reveal that Azazel had gifted him with all the Vritra type Sacred Gears even as he used his original, Absorption Line, to restrain Loki.

"What's the matter, Devi?" Azazel asked in mock concern, even as the Satan shot up in her seat and sent him a death glare.

"How dare you play favorites like that?" Devi accused. "Just giving away Sacred Gears? That's not fair?"

"Are we in some kind of competition?" Ravel asked, breaking the unspoken rule that only the leaders were allowed to speak, and leveling a challenging look at her wife.

"No. But-"

"Then let it go and lean back already. We were all comfortable and then you had to ruin it by sitting up so suddenly." Ravel replied with a pout, and the twins nodded in agreement.

Blushing brightly, Devi complied, even as the other leaders laughed at how submissive she was being. Even Michael who never took amusement at the expense of others was grinning. Her Peerage too, lovers and not, were feeling amused at her expense.

She was embarrassing herself, but she didn't care. Her lovers' comfort was more important. Especially if she wanted their favor in bed anytime soon.

The amusement died though when the tide of the battle on the screen turned as Loki went on the attack with a massive rain of beam attacks, devastating his attackers easily.

"They can't take another attack like that." Ajuka stated. "They don't have enough Phoenix Tears."

"So you gave them Phoenix Tears, huh? Smart move." Odin absently noted as he assessed the battle. "But Ajuka is right. The children can't take another hit like that."

_They don't seem to have much in the way of tactics at all._ Clyde noted. _The only thing they did that remotely qualifies is splitting the opponents between themselves._

_You're expecting too much from them, Clyde._ Ravel offered. _Outside of a handful of tacticians, most young Devils only know how to directly attack their foes. Rias Gremory is supposed to one of them though._

_She's also up against a opponent completely out of her weight class both power-wise and more importantly in terms of tactical acumen. Or have you forgotten that cunning is one of Loki's domains?_ Devi noted. _She knows not to try any elaborate scheme. It would be too easy for Loki to just turn it against her._

_Whatever the case, things aren't looking good for them._ Jackie observed.

"We should have them withdraw. This fight is obviously one that they are not yet ready for." Ajuka said unknowingly echoing Jackie's observation. "Give me a few minutes and I can work out the coordinates to teleport them out-"

"Peace, Ajuka." Sirzechs cut in. "Have faith in them."

Just then a large Norse transportation circle appeared over the battlefield.

"Aha! The Mjolnir has arrived." Odin announced. "Just in time."

_Mjolnir? As in Thor's hammer?_ Bonnie asked sounding, shocked.

_A replica only._ Devi clarified.

_Oh!_ All three Pawns said, sounding disappointed.

The god then proceeded to open a communications spell with his bodyguard.

"Rossweisse, that's the Mjolnir inbound. Have the Red Dragon Emperor use it."

With that he cut the transmission.

"That's all you're going to tell her?" Falbium asked sounding just slightly incredulous.

"She's a fully trained Valkyrie. She shouldn't need my hand holding."

Any further discussion was cut short as the Mjolnir descended from the transportation circle and the Red Dragon Emperor, resplendent in the Scale Mail armor form of his Sacred Gear flew up to receive it. Unfortunately for the boy, he was so focused on the hammer that he never noticed Fenrir leaping towards him until he bit down on him. Hard.

Serafall gasped.

Ajuka, Michael and Grayfia grimaced.

Azazel and Sirzechs' faces both blanked.

Falbium who had been feigning sleep shot upright.

The Mammon Peerage would have reacted similarly except Devi had sent them just what her little gift to the Hyoudou boy could do as he fell to earth.

"It looks like our faith in the boy was misplaced." Odin lamented as he shook his head in regret.

"It's not over yet." Devi shot back, a mischievous smirk on her face. One shared in varying degrees by her whole Peerage.

"How can it not be?" Odin insisted. "They have no more Phoenix Tears. And without the Red Dragon Emperor they have no one powerful enough to wield Mjolnir."

"That gem you gave him." Ajuka concluded. "There's something about it."

"Yup." Devi said with a teasing nod. "You'll have to wait to see what though."

Suddenly the room was bathed in red light from the screen, as Rias Gremory's demonic power ran amok in the wake of the apparent death of her beloved Pawn.

"Rias." Sirzechs whispered worriedly.

Grayfia, Ajuka and Serafall shared his anxiety.

"Don't worry, Sirzechs." Devi soothed. "The boy'll be fine and once he is so will your sister."

Sirzechs shot Devi a skeptical look, but Devi held it unwaveringly.

Finally Sirzechs just nodded, apparently deciding to trust his fellow Satan.

Just then the red energy from Rias' out of control powers suddenly died down, something that brought the smirk back to Devi's lips even as most of the others sighed in relief. Devi's smirk vanished though when she saw Fenrir suddenly get bound by glowing white chains.

"That's Gleipnir!" Odin exclaimed in surprise. "How?"

The perpetrators soon revealed themselves to be members of the Chaos Brigade's Vali Team, after which the male holy sword user then proceeded to use what everyone there recognized as Excalibur Ruler on Fenrir.

"They dare!?" An incensed Devi asked rhetorically, even as her lovers tried and failed to calm her down. "They dare steal a being's free will so blatantly? Where I can see them? I'll kill them!"

"I'll assist you." Michael added seriously. "To abuse one of my father's creations for something so heinous, is utterly unforgivable."

The Archangel and Satan looked at each other and nodded, this was a promise they would keep come hell or high water.

The other leaders shifted uneasily at this declaration. While they agreed in principle, passing judgement like this so quickly was probably not the best idea. Devi knew that, she just didn't care. Nor was she willing to change her mind. A being's free will was sacrosanct in her mind and any who violated it would pay the ultimate price if she had anything to say about it.

_And we'll help!_ Valerie assured, even as the rest of the Peerage sent their own affirmations to the sentiment.

She was distracted from her dark thoughts when the Hyoudou boy finally revealed he was still alive and even helpfully explained to his King and to the watching alliance leaders that it was all thanks to Satan Mammon's gift, the [The Resurrection Scale].

The other leaders all turned to Devi for an explanation, which she happily obliged.

"It's an artifact, an add on to his Boosted Gear, that can revive its user once every 24 hours and through integrated healing magics heal them from most injuries too. It was something that I created using the scale of Ddraig's I got from fighting him in the Great War using principles I learned from studying my own Evil Pieces and Valerie's," Here she gestured to said Rook who blushed and gave a tentative nod as the leaders shot her a look. "Sephiroth Graal."

Azazel burst out laughing as Devi finished.

"What's so funny, Azazel?"

"Only that you were being the pot that called the kettle black when you got upset at me for giving Saji the Vritra Sacred Gears earlier."

Devi blushed at that, unable to refute his claim. Instead, she chose to just ignore him, which just set him into another bout of laughter.

Meanwhile on screen, the vanguard was mustering all their firepower against Loki as he threatened to unleash his full godly power and destabilize the Underworld and all supernatural worlds all at once. During the course of which, unnoticed by almost everyone on the battlefield, a single recently revived devil was sneaking his way over towards Mjolnir.

"You Devils are a scary lot, you know that?" Odin commented. "Between Ajuka and Devora, you have two genius tinkers capable of producing insane world changing artifacts."

Aforementioned tinkers just shrugged.

"Devi, why _did_ you give such a powerful item to Issei all of a sudden?" Sirzechs asked.

"Like I told the boy when I gave it to him, I was just returning Ddraig his scale."

The leaders all looked at Devi skeptically.

Apparently unable to resist, Ravel scoffed. "She's lying. The _real_ reason she gave it to the boy was because despite her best efforts, Devi couldn't make the [Scale] work. As far as she could tell, it would only work when linked to Ddraig. So…"

"So you gave it to Issei-kun so you'd have a chance to see it in action?" Azazel finished for Ravel.

"Pretty much." Devi acknowledged with a sigh, put out that Ravel had revealed her real motivation.

It was just then that the fight on the screen reached its concluding phase with the Hyoudou boy confronting Loki and using a Boosted Gear enhanced Mjolnir on the god, sealing him away.

Seeing that the battle had ended, Devi made to leave. With the current crisis resolved she was now free to act on the intelligence that the other Satans had originally offered her as a bribe to attend the Young Devils Gathering and that was something she was most eager to do. Hunting down and destroying those who would harm those she cared about always would be.

Saying her goodbyes to her fellow leaders, she summoned a magic circle for herself and her Peerage, but just before she left, she made one final comment, "Sirzechs, help me tell the dragon boy that he impressed me today."

Without waiting for a reply, Mammon and her Peerage teleported away.

* * *

**AN:**

**Sigh. Another short chapter. I'm kinda disappointed by that. But I tried adding onto this and let's just say that things ballooned to the point that those bits are now gonna make up the entirety of the next chapter.**

**Hopefully this isn't the start of a trend. But if it is… Well I guess then I'll just have to change my expectations.**

**Now onto things that are relevant to the chapter's content. In that regard this is a canon event seen through an alternative POV. As per my nature as a canon purist, as far as possible much of what happened remained the same as canon with a few changes here and there but seen through a very different POV.**

**One thing I think this chapter addressed is why the Satans, especially the Super Devils like Sirzechs and Ajuka, don't go solving more of canon's crisis on their own. From a meta standpoint, it's obviously so that Issei as the protagonist can go and do so. But from an in-story perspective, why don't they? This chapter offers one possibility: doing so will make their faction look weak by making it seem that only the Satans can handle issues. If they look weak, others will come after them like vultures. They might be put off by the Satans' power, but that's not a perfect deterrent, after all the Satans can only be at so many places at one time. Giving an impression of overall strength even at the cost of reducing the agency of the most powerful members in the Faction and making it harder to resolve certain crisis is just safer.**

**Last thing, anyone recognize the Buffalo Man? If you don't go try to figure it out and go take a look at the source where I got the cameo for. It's worth it.**

**I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	7. When there's no more room in Diyu, the dead will walk the Earth

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 7:** **When there's no more room in Diyu, the dead will walk the Earth**

"I still don't like the idea of having to coordinate with the rest of the alliance." The Satan Mammon complained to her right hand woman and her spymaster. "I liked the idea of working alone."

_By which you mean working with your Peerage._ Clyde commented as she eavesdropped on the conversation between her King and her two childhood friends while everyone waited in a courtyard of the palace to set off on their latest sortie against the Chaos Brigade. _Though to be fair, it's not like we left her with much choice in the matter._

It was true, Mammon had repeatedly made clear that joining her Peerage didn't mean that they had to go into battle with her. But that had not stopped all of them from doing just that. For Ravel, the twins, Valerie, and hell even Bonnie, the reason was obvious. They were all in love with the Satan and wanted to do everything in their power to help her. Clyde could understand why, Devi, as she insisted her Peerage call her, was beautiful, kind and had saved most of their lives. And if Clyde could get over the hang-up of having to share her, she'd be right with them. But she was no polygamist, so as wonderful a catch as Devi was, she wasn't interested.

Which put her in the same boat as Jackie in terms of why they were willing to go into battle with Devi, they wanted to be successful. Shortly after becoming Devils, their Peerage's Queen, Ravel Mammon, had taken them aside to explain the facts of what being a Devil meant. And the one thing that stuck in their minds from that talk was that in order to get anywhere in the strict Devil hierarchy you needed to show merit. Which for a member of a Peerage meant being of use to their King.

And the only way either girl could be of use to Devi was to follow her into battle like the rest of her Peerage did.

Though, Clyde was hypocritical enough to ignore the fact that a good part of her willingness to do so was because it gave her a chance to get some revenge against those Chaos Brigade assholes who killed her. She presumed Jackie and Bonnie felt the same.

Clyde was pulled from her thoughts, when Leloucia Amon replied.

"I know you did, Devi. But coordinating with everyone is more efficient and will allow us to hurt Chaos Brigade more. Take today for example, while you'll be dealing with these facilities along the China-Vietnam border, other teams will be attacking other bases elsewhere."

"I know that. But I'm still not happy that they insisted we agree to coordinate our efforts before they were willing to pass on the intelligence they promised me for attending the Young Devils Gathering."

Clyde could commiserate with her King, she hadn't wanted to go to the party either and then to have the reward for going denied them until another condition was met, it was just infuriating.

"Well, that was something the Norse insisted on and since this is their intel, we just have to bear with it." Atlan Furfur opined. "Besides, this also has the plus point of quieting the talk about you being a loose cannon."

As much as it rankled, Clyde could only with Lady Furfur's assessment. Even just being a Devil for a month she'd heard plenty of people call her King a loose cannon in her quest to hunt down the Chaos Brigade.

"I know." Devi whined. "But I just don't like it. And a girl has to vent."

Both Ladies Amon and Furfur smiled at that, and even Clyde couldn't resist one herself. Despite her station, Devi could be surprisingly normal at times.

Lady Amon was about to say something, but Clyde was distracted from her eavesdropping by Tohru Honda, Devi's ghostly head of R&D, materializing directly in front of her with a stern look on her face.

Startled, Clyde squeaked and jumped back, even as Tohru told her quite seriously that, "Eavesdropping isn't nice, Clyde-chan."

The trio of higher ranked devils that Clyde had been spying on earlier turned to see what the commotion was about, but once they spotted Tohru just shook their heads in amusement and returned to their conversation. Not surprising, Tohru had a reputation for startling people by suddenly appearing out of nowhere whenever she wanted to talk to them.

Calming down, Clyde managed a reedy, "Right. Sorry. Won't do it again."

"You better not." Tohru said sternly, before abruptly becoming cheerful. "But enough of that, here's your bento for the trip."

"Bento?" Clyde asked in a bewildered voice.

"Yup. A packed lunch. I made one for everyone going on today's trip with us." Tohru informed happily, as she handed said packed lunch over.

"You're coming with us?"

"She is." Ravel confirmed as she came over. "You ok there, Clyde? Tohru didn't startle you too badly?"

"I wouldn't!" Tohru cried defensively, but Ravel ignored her and looked to the Pawn for her answer.

"I'm ok. It's not the first time. Honestly, I thought I'd have gotten used to it by now." The Void Gear user said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. I've lived here for years and even I freak out once in awhile when Tohru pops out of nowhere." Ravel reassured.

Tohru just pouted at this.

"Umm… So why is Tohru coming with us today?"

"We're going to be targeting a couple of labs today," Tohru explained, a bright smile on her face with no indication that she'd been pouting just a minute ago. "So Devi-sama asked me to come along to help her study the Chaos Brigade's research."

"That makes sense."

"So you all ready to go, Clyde?" Ravel asked. "You have your vials of Phoenix Tears and other emergency kit?"

"And are you feeling well? If you're unwell, you can stay behind." Tohru added, a caring look on her face. It fit her but also looked odd on a face that Clyde knew best as wearing an expression more suited to some kind of comic book mad scientist.

"I'm fine, Tohru."

"Good. Good." Tohru said with a smile, "Gotta go. Still have to give bentos to the twins. See you two in a bit."

Without waiting for a reply, the specter dematerialized and reappeared across the courtyard in front of the twins, who Clyde noted to her surprise didn't react at all.

"They knew she was coming." Valerie explained as she walked over, "You're not the only one who's been eavesdropping, Clyde."

Ravel snorted at that, and commented that, "If anything that's the twins' favorite hobby."

The two older Devils giggled at that. Clyde just smiled.

"It's a bit odd to see Tohru all sweet and caring, isn't it?" Valerie noted.

The other two women nodded.

"Nice but strange." Ravel added her agreement.

"Alright, it's time to go." Devi suddenly announced to her Peerage. "Put Tohru's lunches into your subspace storage and let's get going."

Clyde, the twins, Bonnie and Jackie all rushed to follow their King's instructions. The latter two apparently having not done so despite receiving theirs well ahead of time because they'd been peeking at what exactly were in the lunches. The subspace storage was one of the first bits of magic that Devi had taught the members of her Peerage, which did as its name suggested and created and allowed access to a pocket of subspace that the user could use as storage. Putting her lunch into the magical storage space, Clyde was ready to go.

"Everyone ready?" Devi asked, and got a chorus of confirmations back. "Ok then."

With that she snapped her fingers and summoned a large magic circle in the center of the courtyard, and the whole Peerage plus Tohru stepped onto it.

"Have a safe trip." Lady Amon said as she and Lady Furfur waved them off, even as the light engulfed them and they teleported away.

The teleport dropped them off on top of a hill in a rather mountainous area, with a single large building right in front of them. It looked like your typical modern office building with glass windows all around, making it seem almost as if it was made entirely out of the reflective material. It would not have looked out of place in any major metropolis but it stood out like a sore thumb in the empty wilderness around them, so far from civilization.

"Not very subtle, huh?" Bonnie said, stating the obvious.

"No they are not." Devi said with a amused nod, before her demeanor grew stern and became more commanding. "We have our target. Move out!"

* * *

Deep within the facility that the forces of Mammon were about to assault was a massive walk in refrigerator, filled with rows upon rows of nondescript metal lockers just large enough to fit a human body. Inside one of these lockers was a teenage girl with rich deep brown eyes and chocolate brown hair that was combed neatly, with the bangs tucked behind her ears and held in place with red bobby pins. This young woman, couldn't close her eyes, she couldn't control her body at all.

Sealed into the pitch black confines of her coffin, the teenager could only dream about the life she'd lost and how it had led her to where she was now.

Her name was Binh Trieu and at her last count she was 16, not that her age mattered anymore, and she had been born to a family of Taoist shamans affiliated to the National Supernatural Control Force (NSCF), a state sponsored supernatural suppression force in Vietnam. As a result, she had been trained from a young age to join the NSCF. Training that only intensified when she discovered to be a Heroic Descendant of Trieu Thi Trinh, a famous 3rd century woman warrior of her people who once led them in fighting off Chinese invaders and from whom she inherited what her teachers all called an 'inhuman' talent for martial arts.

Despite the fact that her training was incredibly arduous, Binh persevered, determined to be the very best she when it came time for her to fight for her nation. When she was 14 she was finally deemed ready for service, and was duly inducted into the NSCF. That had been the proudest day in her life, receiving her documents of office from no less than the Prime Minister himself and in front of her parents too. What an honor!

After that, she had dutifully served her country for over a year destroying all manner of dangerous supernatural creatures when her life came tumbling down. It had supposed to have been a simple mission, she and her squad were to head to the remote border regions near China and suppress a jiangshi outbreak. Jiangshi weren't generally much of a threat, especially in comparison to other supernatural threats she and her comrades had faced, they were basically a simple reanimated corpse maintained through the power of magical talismans. No special powers or magic. Just destroy the bodies or the animating talismans and they're dealt with. They'd believed their biggest problem would be with whoever was creating the damn things, but even then whoever was making jiangshi of all things couldn't have been much of a threat. Or so they believed. In sum, they had thought the whole thing would be a cakewalk.

They couldn't have been more wrong. What they found when they had arrived on site was a base belonging to the Chaos Brigade, a dangerous organization that they'd only heard rumors about and one which their superiors had told them to avoid at all costs. But in this instance, they couldn't do that, not when the base was clearly the source of the jiangshi ravaging the surrounding countryside. In the end, confident of their abilities, the NSCF team decided to infiltrate the base with the aim of destroying it.

Almost as soon as they got into the base, they were beset by hordes of jiangshi, who through weight of numbers slowly overwhelmed them. Binh remembered zombies filling up any open space and pressing at her from all sides. The team had thrown all they had at them but there too many of the undead and soon they were all separated, with innumerable undead between them. She never saw how the rest of the team died, and she knew they did, she'd seen the jiangshi made from their corpses. She did however remember how she died. She had fought the swarm of living dead for what felt like hours, pouring every ounce of her magic and skills into a desperate struggle for survival. But in the end, there were just too many of the enemy for her to defeat, and when she had grown too exhausted to keep fighting, the zombies had overwhelmed her and in a gore filled frenzy killed her.

Unfortunately for her, she was not granted the peace of death. Instead, one moment she felt herself seemingly being torn to pieces by the jiangshi and the next she was reanimating as one herself. Not that she knew that was what was happening at first. When she first came to after her death, all she knew was panic as she struggled to but could not control her body. This lasted for hours before someone moved her into one of hundreds of standing lockers in a refrigeration unit, during the process of which she ended up spotting the bodies of her comrades and dozens of other people converted into or in the process of being converted into jiangshi. It was then she realized she was one of them.

Days later, one of the Chaos Brigade scientists who had come into the locker and ran some tests on each of the zombies, probably to make sure the procedure was successful and was lasting, had a strange reaction when he came to examine her. He didn't reveal what he'd discovered but whatever it was had him very excited and soon he returned with someone who must have been his superior, muttering about "How it's incredible how she's maintained her thought patterns!"

So she'd somehow managed to retain her mind after being transformed into a zombie. That wasn't something worth celebrating in her opinion, since it just meant being a prisoner in her own undead body.

The scientists of course disagreed and proceeded to put her through a series of tasks only to discover to their amazement that she could still use all the skills she had when still alive. A fact that they hypothesized was due to her being a Heroic Descendant, something that made her hate her ancestry for the first time in her life. Especially so when they declared her abilities meant she was more useful than the other cannon fodder and may even be a stepping stone towards their reaching their goal. They never made clear what that goal was, but whatever it was it made Binh feel terrible to think she had in any way contributed towards the monsters reaching it.

Binh was pulled from her thoughts when the lid of her coffin suddenly opened and she felt her body climb out of it.

_More tests? No it can't be, there aren't any scheduled for today. I think._ Binh mused uncertainly. It was often hard for her to keep track of time, so she might have gotten the days mixed up. Though she doubted it, she just had a test yesterday and she didn't think her sense of time would have slipped so soon.

As she climbed out of her coffin, she noticed she wasn't the only one. Every jiangshi in the refrigeration unit, one of several in the base she'd learned, had likewise done the same.

_All of us? That can only mean an intruder and dangerous ones if they are mobilizing this many jiangshi._ Binh would have smirked maliciously then if she could still control her lips. _I hope these intruders kill all these Chaos Brigade scum._

Even as she thought this, her body moved to engage said intruders in defense of the Chaos Brigade. She quickly moved away from the growing numbers of her mindless fellows, who were being herded together in preparation for horde tactics and instead was sent ahead by her controllers to presumably scout the enemy.

It didn't take her long to find them, they had gotten remarkably far into the base, all the way into one of the football field sized testing rooms where the scientists tested out various tactical uses of their undead puppets. The intruders consisted of nine beautiful women who all screamed power, especially the one with long black hair and orange eyes.

Binh observed them from a safe distance for a long moment, as her controllers gave her no new instructions. As she watched, the women seemed to be cautiously examining the testing chamber with its large amount of bloodstains and other signs of gore, the Chaos Brigade having never seen the need to clean the room.

"The dead here are noisy enough as is!" A woman with blond hair and red eyes complained.

_Was she implying that she could talk to the dead? Does that make her a medium of some kind? Or a necromancer?_ Binh pondered even as she was given the command to attack.

Completely against her will she summoned forth a dozen talismans from her pockets, the sheets of yellow paper flying out and forming a straight line in front of her before shooting forward and transforming into a barrage of elemental attacks that shot towards the women. Drawing her sword, a kiem, she took an acrobatic leap and followed after her attack.

* * *

**A short while earlier…**

_So far this place has been a waste of time._ Ravel complained bitterly across the Peerage network, which Tohru had been added to for the day, as the group walked into a dimly lit chamber the size of a soccer field.

She wasn't wrong either, so far the Mammon group had found nothing of value as they investigated the Chaos Brigade facility. All they'd found were hastily abandoned offices. They hadn't even encountered any resistance.

"What is this place?" Bonnie asked, sounding vaguely horrified as she pointed to what seemed to be a large bloodstain.

_Looks like things just got interesting,_ the twins sent to Ravel pointedly.

The wife of Mammon just blew them a raspberry.

The others ignored the byplay, their curiosity or horror drawn to the room with its clear evidence of copious violence.

_This looks like my test labs back home._ Tohru mused, an excited feel to her telepathic voice that was matched by the look of delight on her face. Most of Mammon's Peerage shivered in disgust. They had all seen the labs she was talking about and the undead abominations she created whose combat effectiveness she tested there. Devi and Ravel were the exceptions though, they had known Tohru the longest and had already become used to her and her monstrous pets.

_There's someone spying on us over in the shadows created by the broken light fixture over at the other end of the room._ The twins informed.

_Leave her be. It's only one person, not a threat._ Devi declared confidently. _Probably just a scout._

_Shouldn't we deal with it anyways?_ Clyde queried even as she pointed her [Dragon Maw Cannon] vaguely in the direction of the unseen enemy.

_Not when they're about to attempt to ambush us. It would give away the fact we know their plans and force them to change tactics. We've walked into their trap and I mean to spring it._ Devi explained.

_Why on earth would you do that?_ Jackie asked incredulously.

_To test the capabilities of the opposition._ Ravel announced. _This is the first time we're actually attacking a Chaos Brigade base, we want to check out what kind of defenses we can typically expect from them._

_Oh!_ Bonnie and Jackie both exclaimed.

_But with how divided they are wouldn't it vary from base to base or at least faction to faction?_ Clyde asked.

_It would._ The twins confirmed. _But something to build our future expectations on is better than nothing._

_Really?_ Clyde skeptically asked.

_To be honest._ Devi said _, I'm mostly doing this because I want to see what they can come up with to deal with me._

_That-_ Clyde began only to be cut off by a annoyed Valerie.

_All of you are being too noisy!_

"The dead here are noisy enough as is!" Valerie finished verbally.

Valerie had barely finished talking before Devi announced that, _Here they come!_

As if on cue, a salvo of elemental attacks came streaking towards them from the shadowy corner where the scout had been lurking. Ravel responded quickly, summoning a spiraling barrier of wind that easily deflected the attacks. This was followed a moment later with it sending a teenaged girl armed with a sword flying as she tried to close to melee.

The girl hit the ground with a thud and the Pawns flinched, the force the girl had hit the ground with was enough to seriously injure a human and would have been painful enough that even Devils with their improved durability would have left them unable to fight. The girl however didn't react at all.

"Wha-?"

"She's undead. A jiangshi." Tohru explained as she drew her scythe from her subspace storage. Well that explained why the girl didn't react to the blow, if she was undead then there was a good chance she couldn't feel pain at all.

Suddenly the girl did an an acrobatic flip and landed on her feet.

_Bullshit!_ Clyde cursed in astonishment. _I've read about jiangshi, their bodies should be too stiff to pull that off._

"It should." Tohru, their resident necromancer, conceded with an interested gleam in her eye as she observed the odd zombie girl who was now charging them again summoning a veritable swarm of paper talismans from the pockets of her tattered army fatigues and launching them. As they zeroed in on Mammon and her followers, they transformed into elemental attacks mid-flight.

"Impossible!" Devi said with a gasp, even as Ravel's wind barrier easily deflected the zombie's elemental assault. "A jiangshi that can use Taoist magic?"

"What's special about Taoist magic?" Jackie asked even as she transformed [Death in the Dark] into a long range hunting rifle and tried to get a shot on the jiangshi. But despite her skills as a Heroic Descendant of Calamity Jane, she couldn't get a clear shot. The girl with her acrobatics, was just moving too fast.

"Taoist magic uses the caster's life force to fuel its spells." Tohru explained, distractedly as she eyed the strange jiangshi like a piece of meat. "So for an undead to use it…"

"Should be impossible." Bonnie finished, as she saturated a whole section of the room with fire from [Rapid Death Dealer] in a bid to hit their agile opponent but failing. Not that she expected otherwise, the twins had been summoning their drones by the dozens since the girl attacked and was raining laser fire to do the same, and yet the girl had still managed to avoid getting hit. Even the homing beams from Clyde's [Dragon Maw Cannon] failed to hit her, with the girl jumping or spinning out of the way at the last minute and causing them to hit where she had been standing instead.

The strange jiangshi thus had everyone's attention. Devi and Tohru were mesmerized by her abnormal abilities. The twins and the Pawns were busy trying to shoot her. While Ravel was busy keeping up the wind barrier to deflect the elemental attacks that kept coming. The only one she had not distracted was Valerie, she knew full well her own ranged attacks would never have been able to hit the girl, not when the faster more rapid firing ones of the others could not. As such at the twins' urging through the network she'd taken to being the distracted group's eyes and ears for the unexpected, it was in this capacity that she raised the alarm that the next phase of the enemy trap had activated.

_Hidden doors are opening!_ Valerie sent urgently, just as a horde of jiangshi poured through these new entrances.

"I'll deal with the strange one!" Tohru declared as the Mammon Peerage prepared to fight the new threat. "You girls handle the regular ones."

With that the specter dematerialized only to reappear in front of the sword-wielding zombie her scythe swinging down to cut her in half. In a remarkable display of agility though, the jiangshi evaded the attack and jumped away before Tohru could follow up. Tohru dematerialized again, likely to follow.

Ravel couldn't be sure though as she had to redirect her attention to the horde of zombies coming their way. _Damnit! My wind barrier won't stop them for long, they'll just force their way through with sheer numbers even if dozens get torn to pieces in the process, we need something a little sturdier._

Thankfully, Valerie had just the right spell in mind as with a quick application of will she summoned a thick wall of ice around the Peerage.

_I'll maintain the wall, you guys attack._ The former Dhampir informed the Peerage, her voice showing the slightest sound of strain as the zombies pressed against her icy barrier.

_Valerie, can't hold this wall for long. Let's take some pressure off her._ Devi commanded as she summoned a dozen spheres of void deep within the ranks of the enemy disintegrating everything caught within them.

The twins joined in, quickly redirecting their drones from targeting the first jiangshi to the horde where they were doing a lot better, destroying dozens of the undead with each passing minute. They even threw in the odd lightning spell into the mix.

The Pawns weren't willing to be left out either and were dealing their fair share of destruction on the undead swarm. Clyde's [Dragon Maw Cannon] was firing as fast as it could recharge, tearing trenches in the enemy ranks. Jackie and Bonnie meanwhile were having a contest on who could kill more zombies, and despite transforming [Death in the Dark] into a machine gun, Jackie couldn't compete with Bonnie's [Rapid Death Dealer]'s insane rate of fire. Something the younger woman was happy to continually remind her increasingly grumpy friend.

Ravel on her part knew that using her fire magic would be counterproductive since the heat it would create would make the job Valerie had of maintaining the ice wall harder, plus her more destructive spells were out too since they would just serve to bring the whole building down on them. Instead, she was limited to her less damaging, area-of-effect wise, wind spells. That was not to say that she couldn't tear the enemy apart with those, just that they were so inefficient. Oh, how she wished she could use a fire tornado.

Instead she had to settle for steadily expanding her original wind barrier and using it as a blender that tore the jiangshi to pieces. Though between their numbers and how tightly packed they were, this was nowhere near as destructive as it could be and quite a few of the undead got through the barrier pretty much intact, having been shielded by the bodies of their less fortunate brethren. These she left to the others though she occasionally picked one or two of them off with a wind blade, instead choosing to focus the majority of her attention on moving her cutting wind barrier back and forth over the horde.

The battle dragged on, quickly devolving into a simple battle of attrition. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say it was such from the onset. Either way, the battle seemed to drag on and on.

After what must have been minutes of fighting, Ravel grew frustrated and turned to her wife, "Devi, let's just bring the whole building down. With the right preparations we'd survive that."

"No," Devi said with a shake of her head as she summoned another dozen void spheres to thin the jiangshi ranks. "There could be valuable intel in the building. Besides it's not like we can't win this, it's just a matter of patience."

_For now._ The twins commented. _That could change depending on the number of jiangshi they have. Val can't keep that wall up indefinitely._

"I know." Devi admitted. "But for now, we can still hold out. So that's what we'll do."

Ravel nodded. Devi was right.

It took ages before the last of the jiangshi was finally destroyed, by which time Ravel was sure she never wanted to see another zombie ever again. She joined the others as they all breathed a sigh of relief that it over.

_14 minutes 36 seconds_. The twins announced. _That battle lasted almost 15 minutes. The Chaos Brigade must have fled and destroyed all useful information by now._

Devi nodded, looking disappointed. "But at least we know that their tactic for handling an attack from an overwhelming force is to stall for time and evacuate. Besides there might still be something useful that they missed."

No one was in the mood to argue, though there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction over how the fight had been handled.

"Where's Tohru?" Jackie asked as she finished taking what looked like a headcount.

At that, the Mammon Peerage scanned their surroundings, quickly spotting the missing specter by a wall, with the now limbless jiangshi pinned to it by her scythe, snarling at the ghost.

"You kept her alive, Tohru? Why?"

"Of course I did, Devi-sama~!" Tohru announced sounding giddy. "She's out of talismans and magic. Plus I've cut off her arms and legs. So she's not a threat."

Everyone shot the mad scientist a sharp look.

"Ok. Ok." The ghost said as she raised her hands in a placating gesture. "I mainly let her live so I could keep her as a specimen. She's just so fascinating."

Ravel just shook her head in amusement even as the others made similar gestures of mirth. That was just such an endearingly Tohru-ish response that they couldn't help but be pleased by it.

"Fine." Devi said with finality. "But she's your responsibility."

Tohru nodded.

"Alright then, with that settled let's go see what we can salvage from this operation."

* * *

_Damn it! I could have handled that better._ Devi cursed to herself in a private corner of her mind, detached from the group's telepathic network. It would not do for everyone to see her self-recrimination. _I was so confident that we could handle anything that the enemy could throw at us that I let myself fall right into their trap._

And she had, the zombie rush that the Chaos Brigade had unleashed on them earlier had never been intended to kill her or her people. The Brigade knew full well that if Tohru or any of her Peerage were in serious danger, she'd have gone all out and destroyed the everything around her to keep them safe and with their only weapons being jiangshi there was nothing they could do to stop her. As such the trap was nothing more than an attempt to buy time, one which played on her self-confidence which made her hold back.

Sure, she had done so in no small part because unleashing her powers at full might have destroyed valuable intelligence as it would certainly have brought the building crashing down on them. But in light of the Brigade successfully making their escape, that was a flimsy excuse at best. Yes, there might still be some intelligence left behind, but most if not all the truly useful material would have been destroyed by the Brigade as they fled.

_Buck up, Devi._ Ravel sent comfortingly. _Yes, you made a couple of wrong calls earlier. But just take it as a learning experience, ok?_

Devi startled a little, worried that she'd unintentionally sent her earlier thoughts through the network, but Ravel assuaged her fears, _We didn't hear whatever you were thinking. We didn't need to. It was written all over your face._

The Fifth Satan hurriedly schooled her features, which earned her giggles from the twins as they and the rest of the Peerages rummaged through the remains of the Chaos Brigade facility's labs. The twins were focusing on recovering what limited data they could from the data servers in the third basement level that the Brigade hadn't outright destroyed in their rushed escape through the use of their powers. Their drones and Val keeping watch over them while they focused. The Pawns on the other hand had grouped up and were searching the labs on the floor above that. While Devi and Ravel searched those on the first basement level. Tohru on the other hand had stayed behind in the room where they'd fought the horde of jiangshi back up on the ground floor to act as a rear guard, or more accurately to gush at her newly acquired specimen.

_Besides, it's not looking that bad._ The twins sent. _At least not from our end. Most of the servers are intact and functional. Looks like whoever was tasked to wreck them didn't have enough time to do a thorough job._

_The same up here,_ Bonnie added in. _A lot of trashed equipment and plenty of burned documents, but after we put out the fires, there's still plenty that's intact._

_But is any of it useful?_ Devi shot back.

_In the servers? Probably not._ The twins replied apologetically. _Whoever was tasked with destroying the servers might not have time to finish his job but he had his priorities in order. We've only finding research data so far, no actionable intelligence._

_Slingers? How about you girls?_ Devi asked hopefully.

_Maybe. We honestly wouldn't know though, there's a lot of surviving documents here and well… It's not like we'd spot what's useful at first glance._ Clyde responded just a tad hesitantly.

_That's fine. Just store everything you girls find and we'll have Attie look through it when we get back._ Devi replied with a sigh.

_On it, boss._ Jackie sent back.

_Devi, are we supposed to clear this whole complex ourselves?_ Valerie asked tentatively, it was clear through the telepathic link that she'd been waiting to ask the question for some time but hadn't wanted to interrupt the previous conversation.

_No, just do a preliminary sweep. Attie will be on her way with a bigger force soon._ Devi announced.

_That's good to hear._ Valerie replied while breathing a sigh of relief, echoed by the others. _This place is pretty massive._

_If that's the case, why didn't we come with them?_ Clyde sent back accusingly.

Devi made to reply, but was preempted by Ravel. _Because, Clyde, we're qualitatively superior despite being smaller in number than any one force Devi can bring to bear._

_But wouldn't it have been better if we had at least more backup?_ Jackie questioned.

Devi pondered this for a moment as she and Ravel stepped into a once opulent office just off the lab area they had just been exploring. From the plaque on the door, it was the facility's director's office.

"Hopefully there's something useful here." Ravel said tiredly, the strain from the earlier battle was starting to show, as she began to search the office.

_Jackie's right._ Devi said after some consideration. _We moved out with only us before now because as a small group we could deploy more quickly and covertly, but by now the enemy is expecting us. There's no need for that._

_So what does that mean?_ Valerie asked, effectively speaking for everyone else.

Devi didn't respond to Valerie, instead choosing to take action. _Tohru, can you hear me?_

_Right here, Devi-sama._ The specter dutifully responded.

_Good, Tohru. Attie and her men should show up in the next few minutes. Once she does I want you to ask her to detach a company of her men to reinforce my Peerage for when we assault the next base. The rest can stay here under her command to secure this one._

_I'll tell her._

"Devi, I think I've found something useful." Ravel declared suddenly, as she gingerly placed a partially burned document onto a table.

"What is it?"

"Looks like a communique from Rizevim."

That caught Devi's attention immediately and she walked over to take a look.

A good portion of the communique was too badly damaged to be read, but from what was still legible, Devi was able to decipher that the Lucifer had gotten in touch with all the other Chaos Brigade Factions about data on resurrection and related magic.

_Why would he need that?_ Valerie asked fearfully. _Those powers… they're what my Sephiroth Graal can do… Is he trying to make up for not having it?_

_Don't worry, Val. I won't let him take you!_ Devi reassured, even as the rest of the Peerages sent similar sentiments..

Just then Devi sensed a dozen or so incoming teleports and tensed, fearing it was an enemy counterattack.

She relaxed though when she sensed Attie's familiar presence.

_Devi-sama. Atlan-san just got here._ Tohru informed. _I'm giving her your orders now._

_Thanks Tohru._ Devi sent back, before redirecting her focus to her Peerage. _Alright girls, finish up what you're doing and wait for Attie's men to relieve you then regroup back in the testing chamber on the ground floor._

* * *

A short while later, everyone had as ordered regrouped in the testing chamber. Attie had helpfully brought with her the equipment needed for a command post and had set it up, so everyone was seated on proper chairs and didn't need to sit on the gore soaked floor.

"Good choice on a place for us to teleport in, Devi. Very spacious and since it's already inside the building, very convenient too." Attie commented as everyone settled down and began pulling out their packed lunches. It was lunchtime after all, and it only made sense to eat while they debriefed and planned for the attack on the next base. Devi thus happily agreed with Ravel when she'd made the suggestion.

"Tohru was the one who did it." Devi replied, as she took a seat to Ravel's left and pulled out her own lunch, Attie taking a seat to her right.

"Where is that ghost, anyways?" Attie asked inquisitively. "Haven't seen her since I got here and she passed on your orders. I have your men ready by the way."

"Good, they'll come with us on the next attack. And as for Tohru?" Devi gestured to a far wall where Tohru was still happily examining the pinned zombie girl.

"New specimen?"

Devi just nodded, which in turn caused Attie to sigh at their undead friend's antics.

As Devi finished her first mouthful, she turned to her Peerage. She'd rather not interrupt her lunch, but time was of the essence here. "So let's review what we discovered here. Twins?"

"This facility is a research base designed to experiment with jiangshi and determine if they can be made into foot soldiers for the Chaos Brigade. More specifically trying to enhance them after they concluded normal jiangshi wouldn't work."

Devi nodded, and took another mouthful. "Anything about the base in China?"

"Nothing we could find." The twins informed with a shake of their heads.

"Good. So they won't expect us coming."

"Why not?" Jackie asked sounding confused. "Aren't we operating in the same area?"

"Yes. But since there's nothing linking this base to that one, there's no reason to assume we even know it exists." Clyde explained, showing why she'd been the tactician of their little gang when they had been human. "They might beef up their security due to us being in the area but they won't abandon all their hard work just because of that."

"Clyde's right. The Chaos Brigade have standing orders to only abandon their bases if and only if they are attacked by an overwhelming force." The twins added.

Jackie nodded in understanding, with Bonnie following her example.

"Found those orders in the database?"

The twins nodded. "Along with some SOPs [standard operating procedures] of theirs. We've already passed them along to Attie's men for analysis."

Devi looked to Attie who nodded in confirmation, before turning back to the twins, "Anything else useful?"

"Right now, no? Though we did find out the story behind zombie girl over there." The twins declared as one of their bodies gestured to the girl pinned to a wall.

"Really? So what is it?" Bonnie asked excitedly.

Devi was tempted nip this potential tangent in the bud and to get things back on track, but held back. After the wash of a morning, a little distraction was in order.

When Devi didn't object, the twins continued. "Her name is Binh Trieu, and she was the only success in of the Chaos Brigade's efforts with jiangshi. Probably because she's a Heroic Descendant of Trieu Thi Trinh, at least that's what they believed. She's also an expert Taoist Shaman as she showed with all that Taoist magic she threw at us."

"How did someone like that end up as a Chaos Brigade test subject?" Jackie commented incredulously.

"She was an operative of the Vietnamese state." Here the twins grew nervous, not overtly so, but as their lover Devi spotted it easily and quickly sent a telepathic burst of comfort. It was to be expected though, the twins had their own bad experiences with dealing with governments and the girl's story was an uncomfortable reminder of that.

Devi sensed the twins recomposing themselves before they picked up the tale again. "She was sent here on a mission and got herself killed and turned into a jiangshi. Unlike normal jiangshi though the poor girl is conscious but can't control herself. Instead, her body is being directed by a control talisman."

At this the Slingers all turned to look at Binh trying to spot the talisman.

"You won't find it. The Chaos Brigade made it like a Sacred Gear so it's embedded in her being, just like your Void Gears are for you." The twins explained with a giggle.

"Oh!" Bonnie exclaimed as she blushed in embarrassment, while Clyde and Jackie just took the explanation in stride. The latter two were a lot more accepting of the fact that they had a lot to learn about the supernatural world, Devi noted.

"If that's the case, Iwakuras, can't we free the poor girl by just removing that control talisman?" Ravel asked as she finished with her lunch. Unlike the others, both she and Valerie who had been raised as proper ladies, had apparently chosen to finish their meal before joining in the conversation.

"We could but that would also kill her." The twins replied with a sad shake of their heads. "The control talisman doubles as the anchor for the magic that reanimates her. So removing it will end her undeath."

Everyone shook their heads in dismay at that. The girl's story was quite sad and had stirred a great deal of sympathy among them.

"It's a pity." Attie chimed in. "If only there was another way."

Devi just silently contemplated what could be done as she finished her meal. Likewise, her Peerage returned to their food, feeling a little down.

As Devi finished the last of her food, she came to a decision.

"There is a way to save the gir- No, Binh." Devi announced.

"You can't mean-" Valerie was cut off though by Devi.

"I do. But I'll make it a choice."

"Between?" Attie asked coyly.

"Death or joining my Peerage."

"But the girl, no, Binh, can't make a choice now, can she? Now with that control talisman thingy inside her." Bonnie asked sounding confused. She was not the only one, the other Slingers and Valerie looked just as bewildered.

"The Evil Piece can substitute for the control talisman as the source of the magic animating her, so I'll reincarnate her thus returning her free will and _then_ have her make her choice."

Valerie still seemed befuddled though, Devi didn't understand why that would be and was about to ask but thankfully the twins seemed to understand why and stepped in to explain.

"It's not the same as it was with us, Val. Devi isn't equating the Peerage to a harem anymore, not since she revived you and definitely not since she had the Slingers join."

Devi blinked in surprise. _That's what this was about?_

The twins' little revelation elicited a mixed response from her Peerage.

Ravel actually seems disappointed, while the twins seemed neutral about the whole thing.

While Jackie and Clyde were visibly relieved, probably that the Peerage was not her lesbian harem like Azazel had jokingly called it. The two of them, Devi knew, had no romantic interest in her whatsoever.

Valerie and Bonnie looked conflicted. That brooked some consideration on Devi's part. What did she feel about the girls? But she could worry about that later.

For now though, she had a girl to save.

Walking over to the girl, with her Peerage and a curious Attie trailing behind her, she gestured for Tohru to step aside even as she summoned one of her two remaining Evil Pieces, a Knight.

Eying the Knight Piece, Tohru gave maniacal smile apparently having figured out in a single glance what Devi intended.

Conjuring a magic circle around her free hand Devi slammed it into Binh's body, instead of resulting into a spray of gore though, it slid into her body like it was made of jello instead of undead flesh. Devi rooted around inside the teenager's being for a moment before finding what she was looking for and yanking the control talisman keeping the girl in undeath out. The talisman revealed itself to be a strip of yellow paper inscribed with a whole host of arcane runes. Looking at it in disgust, Devi with a spark of will and a smidgen of magic, set it alight.

As the ashes of the talisman fell to the ground, the Super Devil activated her Evil Piece and inserted it into the dead girl's being. With the lack of fanfare typical to resurrections by the Satan, Binh gasped her first breath as a Devil.

"Binh Trieu, can you hear me?"

The newly resurrected devil looked towards her new King and nodded, obviously too overcome by her new freedom to respond verbally.

"Will you remain in my Peerage and live or would you rather I give you your final death instead?"

Gulping in a deep breath, the teenage Shaman, croaked a hoarse reply, "I want to live!"

Devi nodded and pulled Tohru's scythe free, unpinning Binh from the wall, and tossing the weapon to the specter who caught it easily even as she cheered at the development.

The Satan ignored her and instead lowered the latest member of her Peerage gently to the ground.

* * *

A few hours later, Devi had sent Tohru back to the Land of Greed with Binh to have her new Knight's limbs reattached and settled into her new life. At the same time, she had reorganized her forces. Based on what little she knew about the China facility, it was just as if not even bigger than the Vietnam one. It thus necessitated that she split them up to allow her to more quickly secure and prevent a repeat of what happened in Vietnam.

To that effect she had split her Peerage into three teams, each with a squad of a dozen of the men Attie had brought with her to back them up. Ravel led one and the twins led another, while Valerie and the still inexperienced Slingers would command a third. With one team with herself at the head, she had four teams. Which they all felt should be more than enough.

She had also arranged with Hansel back in [Spiral Urbis Opes] to prepare a battalion of heavy infantry to serve as reinforcements should the need arises. She'd underestimated the enemy once already, she was taking no chances this time.

As such with all their preparations made, Devi and her troops set off for China and the next battle.

* * *

For 16 year old Liou Xiaoyu, a typical Chinese peasant girl living in the hills along the border with Vietnam, the day had started off very well. The weather was good, everyone in her little village was getting along, even Old Man Zhou and Auntie Zhu, who for once were just giving each other the cold shoulder instead of hurling abuse at one another.

Unfortunately, her good day was not to last. It was almost noon, and Xiaoyu, a tall, lithe young woman with long black hair that she wore in two high pigtails, similarly black eyes and a fair complexion was just starting on making lunch for her family when suddenly a glowing circle appeared right in the middle of her kitchen and out shambled a walking corpse. Its body showed obvious signs of decay and its movement was stiff but it nevertheless shuffled awkwardly towards her.

Horrified, the teenager screamed and ran out into the living room of her house, only to find three more of the monsters there. More importantly for the girl, her younger brother Xiaohan was also there, staring stupefied at the living dead as the textbook he'd been studying from slipped from his nerveless fingers.

"Xiaohan!" The young woman shouted, as acting with bravery she didn't know she had she ran towards the monsters and grabbed her brother by the arm and pulled him along as she fled her home.

There was no safety outside their house though, as Xiaoyu quickly found out, for her whole village had been overrun. She could hear screams echoing from all around her, some of defiance, but mainly of agony and despair. All accompanied by the seemingly omnipresent sound of the monsters' moans.

Desperate to evade the creatures, Xiaoyu ran directionless through the village, all the while dragging her little brother along.

"Big Sister, what are those things?" Xiaohan asked, sounding terrified. "They are jiangshi? Aren't they?"

"I don't know." Xiaoyu admitted, as she led them down a narrow alley between two houses to avoid one of the creatures which had stepped out of a house, Uncle Liu's, just ahead of them on the path. "Maybe."

To her misfortune, the alley ended in a dead end in a large courtyard bordered on all sides by houses. Xiaoyu quickly looked to see if she could turn back, but was quickly disabused of that suggestion when she saw one of the jiangshi, they must be jiangshi, stumbling its way after them from the way they came. A particularly large one at that, which Xiaoyu was thankful for because its bulk was making it difficult for it to navigate the narrow alley, it was getting stuck every so often and was forced to muscle its way through the obstructions, thus slowing down its progress.

Frantic, the young woman pulled her brother towards one of the doors of the houses lining the yard. She tried to open it but it was locked and try as much as she tried she could not force it open. Giving it up for a lost cause, Xiaoyu tried the one across from it but couldn't open it either.

All this while, Xiaohan had been murmuring nonsense as the fear overtook him, but all of a sudden he screamed and as Xiaoyu turned to see why, her heart dropped. The jiangshi had caught up to the siblings and had shambled into the courtyard but it was not alone. Hidden from the Chinese girl's quick glance earlier, there had been two more of the undead creatures following behind it. Now without a narrow alleyway to impede their moment, they spread out to flank their larger counterpart.

Xiaoyu responded by making a mad dash to the last door she had not tried, literally forcing her to run just ahead of the grasping arms of the jiangshi. But just like the other two, this door was locked. With no routes of escape available, Xiaoyu ran towards her brother, again narrowly avoiding being caught by the undead and pushed her brother behind her as she awaited the inevitable.

_I don't want to die. I don't want Xiaohan to die. To whichever god is listening please save us!_ The young woman prayed with all heart as she cowered before the advancing zombies, using her body to shield her brother in some futile hope that it would somehow help him survive this day.

_If you really want to save your brother, then I'll oblige._ A voice that Xiaoyu somehow just knew came from deep within her own soul answered her prayer.

_I do! More than anything!_

_Good! Then use my power wisely and save him!_ The mysterious voice boomed in her mind, even as strength suddenly flooded her body and knowledge on how to use martial arts filled her mind. They were also accompanied by bursts of memories, but not her own, these were ancient memories. Memories of the being that was empowering her. She saw a aged father in ancient China receiving a notice demanding he report for military service and a girl dressing up in men's armor and going to war in his stead. She witnessed war and bloodshed and in the end betrayal by sovereign, lover and family.

As the memories faded the mysterious voice spoke once more, declaring, "Rise Liou Xiaoyu and inherit my will. Inherit the spirit of Hua Mulan!"

Just as the voice begins to fade, a pair of knee length black boots with a glowing green stripe running down the outer side of the boot that trailed off into a pair of energy streamers at her ankles suddenly appeared on her feet. The fading voice, now barely a whisper, sounded startled as it said, "Sacred Gear!? What a coincidence, or perhaps this is fate? Whatever the cause, these will be most useful. They are the Dark Boots. Use them with the kicks I taught you, my successor, and you and your brother may yet survive this day. Fight well, Xiaoyu!"

Honestly, Xiaoyu thought she had gone crazy, but she didn't care. Not in that moment. Not when the craziness could save her brother. With a wordless battle cry, Xiaoyu followed Mulan's advice and attacked. Letting the inherited skills and instincts guide her, she leaped into the air and landed on the large jiangshi's face causing its head to explode in a shower of gore thanks to the enhanced power of her legs granted by her Sacred Gear. As the corpse fell, Xiaoyu did a side split, something she'd never have managed before, destroying the heads of the other two undead as well, before using the still falling body of the first zombie as a springboard to jump back, reducing it into a gory mess in the process.

She landed a couple of metres away from the three bodies or what remained of them and waited to see if they got back up. When they didn't, she heaved a sigh of relief. Her brother followed her gaze with trepidation.

"So destroying the head kills the things, huh?" Xiaoyu noted, as she turned to her brother.

"Big Sister, that was aweso-"

The young ten year old boy never got a chance to finish his cry of adulation, as mid-way through his sentence a pair of rotted hands burst through the door behind and grabbed hold of him, causing his scream to become one of terror.

Xiaoyu tried to rush to his aid by was blindsided when a jianghsi burst through the door to her left and tackled her to the ground. It bit at her and managed to tear a chunk of flesh from her arm before she managed to kick it away and finish it off with a roundhouse kick to the head. By this time, another four zombies had made it into the courtyard from the newly opened door and surged her way. Xiaoyu ignored them and turned in the direction of her brother, only to find a jiangshi had ripped his body to pieces and had bulldozed its way through the door.

Seeing red, the Sacred Gear user ran towards the zombie that had killed her brother and reduced it to a bloody smear through a series of rapid kicks. By this time, the other zombies had closed on her, but Xiaoyu was not worried. There was nothing left for her to worry about. All that mattered now was to use her new powers to send these murderous things back to their graves.

With tears streaming down her face at her loss, she blitzed them in a flurry of kicks destroying them utterly. It wasn't enough though, she wanted, no needed to destroy more of these jiangshi that had ravaged her village. Only then would she be able to avenge her brother and face him with dignity in the afterlife.

Driven by this angry determination, Xiaoyu scoured her village for more of the monsters. In her red haze of rage, she found and killed dozens of the abominations, but in the process due to the lack of focus brought on by her heightened emotional state, which was not helped _at all_ by the discovery of her parents' bodies, and sheer inexperience she quickly accumulated a whole host of wounds.

Finally after a 10 minute rage fueled rampage, she becomes too exhausted to keep fighting and collapsed next to the sturdiest house in her village, one built by a young man who had gone to work at that mysterious new factory up the road.

"What a waste building such a fancy house. Your family are all dead now. The whole town is dead." Xiaoyu noted of the house, even as she did a quick check of her injuries.

"I'm bruised all over from their blows and being thrown into things. Scratched all over too. Plus my right arm is broken." Xiaoyu listed off absently, before she coughed, sending bloody spittle flying. "Oh and from that blood. I've got some kind of internal injury too."

Xiaoyu would have marveled at how a relatively uneducated peasant girl like her so easily assessed led her own injuries, but frankly after the events of the day so far, it didn't even surprise her.

Down the street on all sides, she could see a large group of jiangshi gathering, they were being surprisingly cautious, almost as if their controllers - Xiaoyu remembered that the legends said they were controlled - had learned to be wary of her. A bitter smile spread across her face at that, at least she'd left an impression.

Defiantly, she stared down the horde of abominations that would be her death.

* * *

**Roughly 20 minutes earlier…**

Valerie Tepes, Rook of the Satan Mammon was in a foul mood. This was not because her King had let her overconfidence lead to the failure of their mission objective earlier in the day nor was it because she had just had to fight her way through an entire base full of zombies. Both of those things she'd come to expect as part of her life as a Devil. Her King after all couldn't be perfect and would inevitably make mistakes, she was actually quite glad it was a mistake that had not led to any harm coming to their side. At the same time, zombies were just another supernatural horror for a Devil, and frankly no big deal.

It all started with the Slingers innocently asking about the difference between jiangshi and regular zombies.

"Well, for the most part? Nothing." The twins explained to the Pawns' question as they waited for their King to contact [Spiral Urbis Opes] and make arrangements for reinforcements in the event of an emergency. "They are just generally easier to control."

"Why?" Clyde asked inquisitively. That girl was quite the sponge for knowledge, Valerie noted to herself as she listened in on the conversation, having nothing better to do herself.

"Well, zombies are created by necromancy and so need an necromancer or at least someone skilled in at least the basics of that branch of magic around to command. In contrast, jiangshi are created through the use of animating talismans. These talismans are artifacts that anyone with skill in magic, of any branch, can use."

Valerie was quite impressed that the twins had chosen to say all that verbally. She knew they generally preferred telepathic communication. But the Slingers were new to it and not very comfortable with it yet, so the twins were making an allowance for that. The former Dhampir was also quite pleased to note that the Void Gear users were also meeting the twins halfway by not making an issue of the strange stereo quality to the twins' speech, created by them talking from two mouths at the same time, which their normal thought speech lacked. She knew it had to be disconcerting to the young women who until recently were ignorant to the supernatural world and its oddities.

"That would make them good cannon fodder like the Brigade wants them to be, but why not a zombie virus like in the movies? Wouldn't that create more troops more quickly?"

"Even I can answer that one, Clyde." Bonnie cut in with a giggle. "I mean, just look at the movies, those kinda things are too hot to handle. Imagine if it got loose?"

"Bonnie is correct, Clyde." Ravel chimed in. "It's been tried before, with disastrous results. The stories I've heard." Ravel shuddered. "Not pleasant."

"They were used?" Jackie asked wide-eyed. "When?"

"In the Great War. Devi saw it first hand," Ravel explained. "It still gives her the shivers thinking about it sometimes."

That sent shivers down everyone's spines. Something that could scare their insanely powerful King must truly be horrifying.

"Back on topic!" Clyde said, trying to veer the conversation to safer ground. "So if jiangshi are pretty similar to zombies, what else are they similar to?"

"In terms of the controllability aspect, golems I guess."

"Good example, Val." The twins praised genuinely, before a teasing glint entered their eyes. "Though you just reminded us, some people have called jiangshi 'Chinese Vampires'."

The former Dhampir knew what the twins were doing. They were poking fun at the vampire heritage of hers that she so despised. After all for the proud vampires to be compared to the mindless zombies that were jiangshi was quite the insult. Valerie was actually quite pleased by the idea.

"Wait, wasn't Val formerly a Dhampir? A half-vampire?"

"Yes, I was Bonnie. What of it?"

The Slingers all eyed Val over for a moment.

"You are nothing like a jiangshi." Jackie concluded.

"Of course not." Val angrily. "That Binh girl notwithstanding, jiangshi are all mindless zombies. Do I look like I'm mindless?"

"Peace, Val." The twins said placatingly, even as they telepathically sent, _Sorry. Looks like our tease backfired._

Valerie just huffed in irritation.

The Pawns gave similarly apologetic responses, though Val barely gave them any mind. Their unintentional comparison to the unthinking jiangshi had hit closer to home than anyone had probably thought possible. After all, Val had at one point _been_ reduced to a husk of a being with no thoughts of her own. It had only been Devi and twins' actions which had saved her from staying that way.

The Rook was so caught up in her upset musings that she didn't notice Ravel come up to her and give her hand a comforting squeeze. Startled, she shot the pure-blooded Devil a look of surprise, which was returned by one of comfort and camaraderie.

Devi came back then and informed them about the sub-groups she had set up for the next raid and Val found herself grouped with the Pawns and a dozen soldiers from Lady Atlan's forces. She thought they might be from her house guard, but wasn't familiar enough with the disposition of her forces to be sure. Though which exact formation they were from wasn't really important. As for the Slingers, she could understand why Devi had grouped her with them.

They were still inexperienced to the life of a Devil, much less actual supernatural combat and so her King had grouped them with her to make sure they would be alright. The twins couldn't take on the role as they were needed to access the facility's data core and giving them the task of watching over the Pawns would have been too much of a distraction. Ravel would probably have been a better choice, since she had more experience than herself, but Devi knew that. So assigning her the role instead must have been Devi's way of testing her.

Something she confirmed as she made the assignment via a private telepathic burst that told her to, _Take care of them, Val. I trust you._

Valerie was honestly touched by that, but at the same time she was could not fully shake off the lingering annoyance she felt at the Pawns for reminding her of what could have been. She'd have to work through it though, there was no way she'd misplace Devi's trust in her.

The former Dhampir had little time to firm her resolve though, as shortly after that Devi had summoned four large magic circles, one for each assault team, and the raid was underway.

* * *

Moments later, the small army of devils appeared hovering in the air over what looked liked a nondescript factory nestled in the hills of rural China.

Immediately, something unexpected cropped up.

_The village down the road is under attack by jiangshi!_ The twins announced to the whole force as soon as the light of their teleportation faded.

_Damn it! They must be aiming to build up a larger force in the event we showed up._ Ravel cursed via the Peerage network.

_That or they expected us._

_Not likely, Bonnie, if that were the case they would have kept their forces in the base. Splitting their already poorer quality forces up like this is stupid._ Clyde disagreed.

_It doesn't matter why the village is under attack. It's a distraction now and one we can't ignore. I will not allow innocent people to die if I can help it._ Devi declared, before she began verbally issuing orders.

"Val, take your team and go deal with the jiangshi in the village. Save as many people as you can." Val nodded and was just about to fly off with her team when Devi added, "Don't overdo things though. If you need help, don't hesitate to call. We'll come running and Hansel has a whole battalion ready back home."

"Understood." The Rook replied as she had her contingent flew at top speed towards the village, the distance being too short to warrant a teleport. In the background, she noticed Devi and the rest of her forces, descend on the factory, actually the Chaos Brigade base, like a flock of deadly birds of prey.

She quietly wished them luck, as moments later she and her own team arrived in the skies over the village. A quick sweep of the village both with her eyes and her ability to sense life granted to her by her Sacred Gear, Sephiroth Graal, showed that the whole village had been overrun and that there was only one almost dead survivor lying exhausted against what looked like a small mansion. By the looks of things the girl was also a Sacred Gear user, if the strange boots she was wearing was any indication.

The girl was in quite the predicament too, as Val could sense her injuries were very serious and she was facing off against a large, and still growing, horde of undead.

"Slingers, mages, kill the things from the air. The rest of you with me!" Val ordered as she dove towards the girl's position.

Heeding her command, the three mages from the squad of Lady Atlan's soldiers and the three Void Gear users started to unleash a devastating barrage of attacks on the group horde of jiangshi. It was thus amid a rain of destruction that she and her remaining men landed.

Acting quickly, Val called upon her ice magic and just like the battle in Vietnam summoned a protective wall of ice in the shape of a hemicircle which together with the wall of the mansion completed a makeshift rampart around their position.

"Medic, you and two others stay here and help the girl. The six of you spread out into the village and destroy these things! Stay in groups of two." Val commanded as she leaped over her own wall of ice and engaged the jiangshi with a barrage of shadowbolts which took out the last few of the undead out in the open which had managed to survive the attacks from the air.

"Two of you with me. Focus on those inside the houses, our ranged attackers can't spot them when they're inside! "

Putting her words to action, Val stormed into a house down the right street from the mansion and into a living room and sent a slavo of icicles into the heads of a trio of jiangshi lurking within. As they fell, another zombie charged out of an adjoining room but was dealt with by one of the soldiers following behind her, courtesy of a trident to the head.

The Rook gave the other Devil a nod in thanks before picking up the overturned sofa next to her and throwing it at yet another jiangshi stumbling towards them. The well aimed blow took the creature's head off and killed it. But that was hardly a respite as half a dozen more of the zombies shambled their way towards the devils from various rooms in the house.

Val let a bloodthirsty smile spread across her face. Normally, she wouldn't have been as caught up in the thrill of battle as she was now. She generally was of the opinion that violence while necessary, especially in the supernatural world, should be avoided if possible. But now, her earlier annoyance was fueling her lust for battle. She was nothing like these mindless husks and she was going to prove it by destroying as many of them as she could get her hands on!

With that thought in mind, she charged a trio of jiangshi coming at her group from what looked to be a kitchen and with a series of punches enhanced by her Rook strength reduced their heads and a good bit of their bodies into pulp. Wasting no time she picked up a skillet from the kitchen and threw it at one of the undead like a frisbee, decapitating it. By which time, she turned to discover that her escorts had likewise dealt with their own opponents using their tridents and the occasional magic spell to destroy the abominations.

"I'm not sensing anymore here, but let's search the rest of the house to make sure then move on."

"Yes, Lady Valerie."

* * *

Valerie and her men did just that and once they were sure the house was clear they moved onto the next, encountering less and less resistance as they did. Despite this and the fact that the village the relatively small size of village, it still took longer to secure the area than Val would have liked. This even after she'd had the mages, Clyde and Jackie land and help with the house clearing, leaving Bonnie alone in the air as overwatch.

In the end it grew so tiresome that Val had called in reinforcements from [Spiral Urbis Opes] to finish the job. It irked her to have to do so, she'd wanted to settle this on her own, but she knew, from recent experience no less, that the mission came before one's ego.

Fortunately for her ego, Lord Leraje didn't raise an eyebrow at having his men deployed to do mop-up. Val honestly didn't know how her frayed temper, relaxed though it was from copious zombie smashing but tensed again due to needing help, would have handled things if he'd criticized her.

It was thus a whole fifteen minutes later and while Lord Leraje's troops were getting started with the mop-up that Val finally checked on the survivor who was still located within her now melting wall of ice next to the mansion.

"How is she?"

"No good, I'm afraid," The medic informed. "I've given her Phoenix Tears and that dealt with her external injuries but she's loss a lot of blood and badly damaged quite a few of her internal organs. Her liver and spleen are both practically gone. The tears can't heal those."

"And your magic can't fix them?"

The medic apologetically shook his head. "Her injuries are too severe for a field medic like me. She'd need a fully trained healer. In truth I'm surprised I've managed to keep her alive this long."

The Rook felt terrible, despite somehow surviving having her village overrun by jiangshi, the girl was still going to die. Giving vent to this sense of frustration and her own lingering foul mood, Valerie punched the mansion they were standing next to with her full strength. Empowered by two Rook Pieces, that was truly impressive strength indeed, as demonstrated when the single blow sent the entire structure tumbling to the ground with only the quick summoning of barriers by the surrounding troops preventing any injuries.

Valerie looked sheepishly at the destruction her little burst of temper caused and apologized, "Sorry about that, I-"

"No worries, Lady Valerie. We'd have had to knock it down anyway, since we're using an earthquake as a cover story." One of Lord Leraje's men said, dismissing her apology.

"As interesting as that is, what about the girl, Val?" Bonnie asked, sounding annoyed with the tangent the conversation had taken.

"Right. Sorry." Val replied as she switched gears to get back to the topic of the girl's welfare. "What options do we have?"

"Well, you could turn her into a vampire, right?" Bonnie said quickly cutting off whatever the medic was about to say.

"I'd _never_ willingly turn anyone into a vampire!" Valerie hissed as she turned to Bonnie, her face a mask of fury, her fangs extended and peeking out of her lips.

Dimly, the former Dhampir noticed everyone around her tense as if expecting her to lose control.

Putting her hands up in surrender, Bonnie replied, "Look, I know you hate _anything_ to do with your vampire heritage and after everything that you went through, I get it. But what other options do you have?"

"Ahem!" The medic cleared his throat loudly, to get everyone's attention. When everyone turned to him, he continued, "As I was about to say, the girl's best chance is to call for Lady Ravel. The third battalion that's reinforced us don't have any healers with them and I doubt those back in [Spiral Urbis Opes] can come on such short notice. Lady Ravel is our best bet."

Val hesitated. Ravel was, as far as she knew, involved in the ongoing assault at the Chaos Brigade base, asking her to come over might disrupt that operation.

"Can't we just transport the girl to a healer?" Clyde asked, while Val pondered her next move.

"Not with her injuries. Any movement now, even teleportation would be too much for her." The medic explained before turning to Val with a serious look. "Lady Valerie, we've wasted enough time already. If we're saving this girl we must act _now_. She's not going to last much longer."

"Understood. I'll contact Ravel now." Val announced as she drew a device from her storage space that looked like a bluetooth headset and settled in on her ear. It was a special artifact designed to cut through wards, most of them anyways, and allow for two people with the device to remain in contact. It also had the interesting ability to send warnings of incoming calls to its bonded users from subspace via telepathic messages, though it couldn't carry on a whole conversation while in storage.

The Rook was just about to make the call when the medic declared solemnly that it was, "Too late. The girl just died."

Everyone were stunned, some like Bonnie and Jackie let out exclamations of disbelief while others like Valerie were just too stunned to speak.

The moment of shock lasted only a moment though, before a furious Bonnie turned to Valerie, "Your indecision did this!"

"Bonnie! That was out of line." Jackie reprimanded sternly.

Bonnie looked mutinous but nonetheless backed down.

Valerie meanwhile reeled at the accusation, because she knew Bonnie was right. It _had_ been her fault that the girl was dead. If she hadn't wasted so much time after finding her, maybe she could still be alive.

Jackie seeing that Val was in no condition to take charge at the moment, stepped up. "Look right now, the only way to save the girl is to revive her. So let's just wait for Devi to come over and let her decide if she wants to resurrect the girl."

"Err… Don't other people have Evil Pieces too?" Clyde asked uncertainly, clearly hesitant to get involved in the tense situation.

"And you'd trust them over Devi?" Jackie shot back.

"Point taken." Clyde conceded.

"Not to be a wet blanket or anything, but what if Devi doesn't want to?" Bonnie chimed in.

Val grimaced and looked away, she knew perfectly well that it was a possibility. Devi was a very generous person, and frankly didn't put much stock in who she added to her Peerage. But she only had one Evil Piece left and that might change things. She didn't think it would. But there was a chance and that possibility was killing her.

"That's up to her. We can only wait and see." Jackie concluded.

* * *

While Val and the Slingers were having a tense discussion about the fate of the village's sole survivor, Devi accompanied by the twins and Ravel, were taking a leisurely flight over to the village to regroup with them. They had left the men which had accompanied them for the initial assault with Attie when they had handed over the facility to her to fully secure and investigate. And were enjoying the satisfaction of a job well done as well as the relative safety of an area secured by hundreds of their men to fly slowly and enjoy the experience.

Ravel was even taking the opportunity to teach the twins a few tricky aerial maneuvers.

Watching on in amusement as her three lovers flew around her like a group of young Devils discovering their wings for the first time, Devi reflected on what they'd managed to discover from the base so far. Most of it had been more data on the Brigade's jiangshi research, the base having been a sister facility to the one in Vietnam, which was worthless to the Satan who had no plans to create a zombie army. Tohru and her abominations were more than enough for her tastes.

The prize of the operation though had been a complete version of Rizevim's communique about data on resurrection and related magic. In it, he explained that with the loss of the Sephiroth Graal, the plans for the Evil Dragons were unworkable without major changes and that he was requesting the aforementioned data to make it work. This discovery pleased Devi a great deal as it was proof that her efforts were indeed disrupting her nemesis' plans and more importantly because the complete version might offer some clues as to where he might be hiding.

She couldn't wait for the chance to carve him in two.

A few minutes later, Devi was pulled out of her revenge fantasies when she reached their destination and alongside her three lovers landed. She was pleased to see that Val had called in Hansel's men to help with securing the village, it was too big for her initial team to do on it's own after all. She was thus expecting to come up to her Rook and Pawns happy about their victory, but to her confusion she instead arrived to a tense scene.

She was surprised even further when it was Jackie and not a strangely subdued Val which came to her and explained the situation. The Pawn quickly informed her about how they had arrived to find one survivor of the attack - a Sacred Gear user -, and how Val had dealt with the jiangshi in the village easily but had due to indecision failed to save the village's sole survivor from succumbing to her injuries.

"And this tension?" Devi asked.

"Val really wanted to save the girl. We all did. The girl has been through so much..."

Jackie trailed off, but Devi understood. All of her Peerage except Ravel had been through hell to one degree or another before she'd resurrected them with her Evil Pieces and would likely sympathize or even empathize with the girl.

"And how did that lead to the tension?" Devi prompted.

Jackie shook her head, and continued, "That was mainly Bonnie's fault. It started when she suggested Val turn the girl into a vampire."

Devi winced. "I get it. Val hates her Vampiric roots and would be upset at that kind of suggestion."

"We kinda figured that out by her response." Jackie said with a nod. "That's about it really."

"I see. Thank you, Jackie."

The American gave Devi a nod and took a step back, acknowledging her clear dismissal. Devi meanwhile walked over to Valerie who was being comforted by Ravel and the twins, all of whom were looking concerned.

"Val," Devi said as she placed a hand on her Rook's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. "You did well here."

The former Dhampir wouldn't meet Devi's eyes, but replied, "I still let that girl die."

"People die all the time in battle. This whole village died. Why is this one girl different from the others?" Ravel questioned. "Because she's a Sacred Gear user like you?"

Val refused to answer until one of the twins' bodies nudged her shoulder encouragingly.

"I'm embarrassed." Valerie admitted in a whisper. "I let myself get upset by a bunch of things and they affected my judgement, made me waste time. And because of that the girl died. I'm ashamed that I let that happen."

Suddenly Val turned to Devi, her eyes opened wide and her lips pouting cutely, in short she was giving her the puppy dog eyes. Devi found it irresistibly adorable. "Devi, would you revive her please?"

"Sure." Devi said easily. She'd after all been planning to do so ever since she'd heard the girl's story from Jackie. Her tragic circumstances would make her fit right in. That she had a Sacred Gear was just a bonus.

In response to her acceptance of her request Val rewarded Devi with a bone crushing hug in thanks even as she shot Bonnie a victorious smirk.

The Pawn in turn just mouthed back "Devil's Advocate" before blinking and giggling as she likely realized how ironic that idiom was in in their situation. A few moments later she was joined by Val as she disentangled herself from Devi, their animosity from earlier completely forgotten.

Not that Devi paid much attention to that even as she smiled at their antics. Her mind was too preoccupied with thinking about the feel of Val's body pressing against her own and how good it felt.

Shaking her head to set aside those thoughts for later, and ignoring the knowing looks Ravel and the twins shot her instead summoning her last Evil Piece to revive a lucky young woman.

* * *

**AN:**

**So we meet the last two members of Devi's Peerage who naturally are worth a description. So as usual here are their inspirations for reference.**

**Binh Trieu: Min from Blood+**

**Liou Xiaoyu: Lenalee Lee from D Gray Man**

**The Sacred Gear Dark Boots is just Lenalee's Innocence ported over**

**Now onto what i want to discuss about this chapter proper. I guess I'll start with the biggest thing which is that this chapter was a pain to write. In no small part because bits I'd initially thought I could cover in a few pages quickly ballooned well past my expectations.**

**But also because it involved my characters screwing up repeatedly and that was something of a downer, not helped by the specific way I wanted to do it which I will talk about in a bit. But let me explain the first thing first. I** _ **know**_ **that characters can't always succeed without becoming complete Mary Sues, so writing them encountering difficulties is a must. However, that doesn't make it easier to write a character you created and like doing poorly.**

**Now about how I wanted them to screw up. I was aiming for them screwing up in the specific way of winning the fight but failing to meet the objective. Let's face it, Devi is OP, deliberately so. There's no chance that the canon antagonists can stand up to her in a fight. That's one of the important points of her character and the plot. So that being the case, how can I have her still encounter difficulties along the way? Simple. Have her be outsmarted, like she was in the Vietnam base where the Chaos Brigade exploited her pride to make a relatively clean getaway.**

**Now some of you might go "But she fought in the Great War, she should know her tactics!" And you'd be right, but she let her overconfidence blind her and forget her lessons, just like RL commanders sometimes do the same [see Custer not bringing his gatling guns to Little Bighorn because he didn't think he'd need them and ending up outgunned.]. Others might say "She's a genius, she shouldn't be so stupid!" Well, genius aren't perfect. They make mistakes too and again remember to take into account her overconfidence.**

**In contrast to Devi, Val's screw up was at once easier to understand and harder to write. It was easier because it's simply her letting the emotions get the better of her and making a bad call plus her own inexperience as a commander. She might be more experienced than the Slingers but not by much. What with being very sheltered in her old life i.e. a prisoner in a golden cage, and having little to no memory of that life anyways. In fact, those common soldiers assigned to her have more experience in the field than her. In light of that, are you surprised she let Xiaoyu die?**

**As for why the medic didn't make the call and bring in Ravel on his own accord? Well, because he didn't have the means. Recall that device Val had to fish out to call her? Though even if he did, he wouldn't because he didn't care enough about the human to disturb her while she was likely in combat. He's a Devil, what's a human to him? He only suggested Ravel in the end because his superior, Val, asked him for options and he was giving her his best suggestion. This doesn't really come across because he was professional and did what Val asked him to i.e. help Xiaoyu, but this is just a little tidbit on Devil mindsets in the TOAverse on humans you might want to know.**

**That's all for today.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ign**


	8. The Pages of Destiny Turn

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Pages of Destiny Turn**

In a dimly lit rock hewn cavern illuminated only by the bioluminescence of its native wildlife, a simple metal frame bed sat rather incongruously on a patch of flat earth. On the bed, was a dark skinned thin man with long dark brown hair and a pair of pale lavender pupil-less eyes.

Staring out into the near darkness of his abode, the man began speaking aloud, musing to himself about what needed to be done.

"How ironic." The man said with a great deal of self-recrimination. "I am the Primal Spirit, Custodian of Fate and yet right now I am as blind to what I should do as my sightless eyes."

Shaking his head ruefully, he continued his critique of himself, "And I call myself Destiny? Ha! I should have kept whatever long-forgotten name I had when I was mortal, it would not sound so hollow otherwise."

"The world is at a crossroads, and something needs to be done, but I don't know what I should do!" The man shouted, giving vent to his frustration.

_Damn it! I lost my cool again and started talking to myself._ Destiny noted self-deprecatingly as he calmed down. _I shouldn't let my frustration rule me like that. The situation is grave enough as is. I cannot afford to make a misstep and make it worse._

Resting his head back against the cool metal of his headrest, Destiny assessed his quandary once more. _The Primal War is almost at hand, but the last Primal remains unAwakened and without her Chaos will win and the universe will be destroyed._

_What should I do? Should I intervene directly? More than I already have? Defying the one rule I created for myself? Or just wait and see, hoping for the best?_

The Primal began weighing the pros and cons of both courses of action again, for the umpteenth time, but this was something he had done so often in the recent past that he soon found his mind wandering. Even as part of his focus continued with the repetitive task, the bulk of his mind drifted into the depths of his memories, to the events of his life. Perhaps that would be a distraction from his dilemma.

* * *

**Flashback start**

Long, long ago, when the race of modern man was still young, the being that would become the Primal Spirit was himself a young man. In those days, long before man had left Africa and spread across the globe, Destiny was a young hunter for his tribe.

On one hunt, Destiny and two of his tribe's senior hunters would encounter a series of events that would change everything for him and the world.

"It is close." The lead hunter said as he examined the tracks of the gazelle that the trio of hunters had been following for days. "It is near death, we will have our prize soon enough."

"That is good to hear," the young man who would be Destiny replied. "I'm pretty close to embracing the final sleep as well."

"Bah! If this is the best you can do, youngling, then you're not fit to be a hunter." Destiny's other companion, the tribe's second best hunter, noted.

Destiny was about to rebut when the lead hunter shushed him, "Did you hear that?"

The other two hunters tensed, wary of any sign of their prey or some other surprise.

Destiny scanned their surroundings, but there was nothing around them but thick bush and a somewhat deep ravine to their right.

The lead hunter, the group's best tracker, however seemed to spot something and he hissed. "We have to leave _now_."

"Why?" Destiny whispered back even as he and the other hunter obeyed and began a wary retreat.

"We were too focused on our prey and failed to notice that we'd-Lion!"

At the lead hunter's shout Destiny tensed, ready to defend himself, but it was to no avail as before he could so much as raise his spear to attack the creature it was already slamming him to the ground and tearing into him.

He struggled of course, trying to clumsily stab the lion - actually a lioness a part of his mind dimly noted - with his spear even as its claws ravaged his body. These efforts however began to slacken when with a swipe of one of its powerful paws across his face, everything suddenly went dark for the young man. With blindness now added to his agony, his resistance grew ever more feeble.

He heard his fellow hunters coming to his aid, which probably saved him from the lioness dealing a final killing blow. That did not however mean that she had released him which resulted in him feeling the sensation of being suddenly being jerked off the ground and sent flying. For a brief moment, Destiny rejoiced in the freedom of being in the air before the law of gravity fully reasserted its power over him and he felt like he was falling. This lasted for only a instant though, and was soon replaced with an agony more intense than anything he had endured so far as he impacted the ground.

When the worst of his pain subsided, Destiny could hear his fellow hunters calling for him, apparently having driven off the lioness. Pushing through the lingering pain like the good hunter he was, he called to his fellows, "Over here!"

"He's in the ravine!" He heard the lead hunter shout, as footsteps drew closer.

_In the ravine really?_ Destiny thought incredulously as he tried to clear whatever was covering his eyes and making it so hard to see, blood most likely, and stand.

To his growing panic however, he found he could do neither.

"-ust stay there! We'll come down to rescue you." Destiny heard the second best hunter say as he suppressed his panic. It would do him no good at the moment.

"Hurry!" Destiny called back, some of the panic he'd failed to contain slipping into his voice. "I can't see or feel my legs. Something's wrong! Please help me!"

If Destiny had been thinking more clearly, he might not have chosen to reveal that. But unfortunately for him, he wasn't.

At his words, he heard his fellow hunters take in sharp breaths and still.

For a moment, he thought that was because they had spotted him and were shocked by how difficult it was to rescue him. But then his addled mind managed to piece together the truth.

_No! Why did I tell them that!? If they know how badly I'm injured… I'm a liability._

"Youngling, can you hear me?" The lead hunter asked, his voice solemn after what seemed an age.

"Yes." Destiny replied weakly, fearing what he would inevitably say next.

"Good. Then listen." The other hunter said resignedly.

"I'm listening."

"Your injuries are too severe, youngling. We can't take you back with us. Not through lion country. And even if we could-" The lead hunter trailed off seemingly unable to continue.

"Even if we could, the tribe would not be able to take care of you and would just abandon you in the wilds to die of shame." The other hunter continued for him.

_Like the two of you are planning to do to me now!?_ Destiny scathingly noted, even as he began to plead with his fellows.

Ignoring him, the lead hunter spoke over his cries, "The good of the tribe comes first, youngling. But you were a brave, good hunter and we can honor that. We'll tell the tribe you died honorably fighting a lion, one that will feed our tribe for days. You'll be remembered with great respect."

_What use is that when I'm dead!?_ Destiny wanted to shout but refrained, instead choosing to continue pleading for his life.

It fell on deaf ears though, as the other hunter spoke up, "We're sorry, youngling, but that's the best we can do."

With that Destiny heard them turn and walk away. He cried after them, begging for them to return, to rescue him, and offering to do anything he could to ensure he wasn't a liability to them or to the tribe. If his fellows heard him, they never replied.

Soon the air cooled, which made him realize that it was night and with it came the understanding that a long time had passed since he last heard the other hunters. _They left? Abandoning me in the wilderness to die!?_

As the truth of this settled into his mind, a fury unlike any other he had ever felt boiled into life within him, _Damn them! May they die a thousand horrible deaths!_

Channeling this fury, Destiny began to use his arms to try to drag himself over to the wall of the ravine with the intent to attempt to climb out. _I will not die here!_ _ **I WILL NOT!**_

As his emotions reached a peak, Destiny suddenly felt himself all but consumed as an immense surge of power surged through him, charging every part of his being with strength well beyond his wildest imagination. At the same time, he felt his mind be bombarded but strangely not overwhelmed by an equally massive rush of information, as it expanded to understand the infinite depth and breadth of the universe, of all of reality itself.

In that brief but intense moment, Destiny came to understand what he had newly Awoken into being: Primal Spirit, the Custodian of Fate. The first of his world's Primal incarnations, local manifestations of the True Primals, entities that embodied the seven forces that made up the fabric of everything there ever was and would be, forged from fragments of the great beings' own essence. He knew then that his nature meant his specialty was the manipulation of the fate of the world as it was shaped by the spirits of creation. But that beyond that as an avatar of reality itself, he also has the power to do basically anything.

It was this last point that brought a malicious smile to his face.

_You lot think you would leave to die, did you?_ The newly Awoken Primal thought angrily. _Well since you wanted to kill me, why don't I return the favor._

Still reveling in his new power and fueled by the rage at his abandonment, Destiny called a doom on his former people. In response, miles and miles away, in a land that would one day be called Indonesia, a massive supervolcano erupted in an epic explosion spewing huge quantities of earth into the air.

Destiny saw through his powers that this would cause changes in the global climate that would cause great hardship for his tribe, eventually leading to its demise. But his powers also showed him that it was not just his tribe which suffered but his whole race and all life on the world, as the climate changes drove many species to the brink of and some to outright extinction.

Destiny reeled in horror at what he had done. _I wanted to punish my tribe not the whole world!_

Acting quickly, Destiny tried to use his power to change things, turn back time or something, but found himself stopped. _That wasn't possible! I'm a Primal! The only thing that can stop me is another… Primal._

And that's exactly what Destiny was sensing. It seemed that while he was having his bout of genocidal madness, another Primal had Awakened - no came into being. Destiny couldn't perceive who or what this new Primal was but he could sense it was new to this universe.

The whole thing reeked of the manipulations of the True Primals, of them seeing his actions and allowing it but not allowing him to fix it. It fit with with what his acquired knowledge of their nature told him. They demanded that actions had consequences and that lessons be learned from them. His doing something he deeply regretted, being unable to correct it and thus learning the need for forethought and restraint, matched that perfectly.

**Flashback end**

* * *

_It was a lesson I learned well._ Destiny mused. _One I have chosen to never forget and for which I have kept my physical blindness and paralysis as reminders of._

_And I've worked to prevent any disasters on the same scale from happening to Earth ever again. Though it hasn't been easy not when my primary power of Fate manipulation can so easily lead to disaster._

Destiny sighed sadly as he recalled how his early use of Fate manipulation had done just that, leading to even more devastating outcomes than the ones he'd initially sought to prevent.

_It's way I've taken to observing and advising mankind through the use of projections._

He called his favored one into being before him then, examining it admiringly. It took the form of a humanoid though what kind varies from appearance to appearance - currently he'd set it to take his own form - that was obscured within a brown robe with an attached cowl. Chained to its right wrist was a large book that when he empowered it displayed all the possible fates in this universe.

"It is quite handsome, if I do say so." The Primal said with a laugh.

He calmed though as his thoughts once more turned to the looming Primal War.

_I had hoped a subtle nudge to the Primal Void would have been enough. Sending her wife to her decades earlier than Fate had originally intended served to get her to end her exile, but it did not bring her into the kind of conflict that would be enough to cause her to Awaken. She was too strong already for any of the enemies she's faced since to push her to the limits that an Awakening needed._

For just a moment, Destiny pondered what it would mean for an already incredibly powerful being like the Primal Void to Awaken to her true nature. The amount of destruction she could cause if she chose to abuse her power would be immense. He hoped it would not happen and by his understanding of her character it was unlikely. But he nonetheless shuddered at the possibility. That was however a problem for another day, the more pressing concern was how to force her to Awaken in the first place.

_The fact that Primals don't all have the same triggers to Awaken makes things so difficult._ The Primal lamented. _If that were the case I'd know full well what to do to cause her to Awaken._

_If that was out of the question then it would nice to be to see her future._ Destiny complained as it had his projection flip through its book and the futures written within. _But no, I'm blind to the futures of all Primals, Awakened or not._

With a frustrated sigh he made his finally his makes his choice. _I know I generally refrain from such but desperate times calls for desperate measures._

With a thought he sent his projection to meet with the Primal Void with the intent to force her Awakening.

_Devora Mammon, soon you will join the family._

* * *

**Some time earlier…**

The Underworld city of Lilith was the capital of Devilkind and the greatest metropolis on the plane. It was the new capital that the reigning Satans had built in the aftermath of the Devil Civil War as a symbol of a new start for their kind. It was a massive place built in a grid of hexagons much like a bee's hive that stretched for 2700 square kilometres, making it roughly the same size as the second largest human city, the Tokyo/Yokohama urban area. Though it had at best only a third of the population or about 11 million people.

In was in this massive city that Devi and Valerie were currently just sitting down at an outdoor cafe to have some lunch. They were of course under glamours, much like the ones that Devi had cast at the Young Devils Gathering. If they were not, they would undoubtedly have been mobbed. Devi, as a Satan, was after all quite the celebrity.

"I can still hardly believe that the two of us are on a date." Valerie said with a happy smile, as they followed the maître d' to their table.

"Even after all the lengths Ravel and the twins went to?" Devi asked curiously, as she pulled out a chair for her date.

"Even then." Val confirmed as she took her seat. "I mean it's just something I never thought would happen, you know?"

"Well it happened." Devi said as she took her own seat.

"I know! And it's amazing!" Val said dreamily.

Devi laughed at her enthusiasm. "Val, dear, we only just started the date."

"And it's already great. Any time I spend with you always is." Val said seriously.

Devi blushed crimson at that. She honestly should have gotten used to this kind of things being directed towards her by now, what with with already having three lovers, but she wasn't and shows of affection or love towards her sometimes still managed to trip her up.

Fighting down her blush, Devi gestured to the menu, "Why don't we order? We can talk as we eat."

"Sounds like a plan."

With that the Rook picked up the menu and begun examining it for something she'd like. Devi meanwhile took the time to admire the other woman even as she recalled how the two of them had ended up on a date in the first place.

* * *

**Flashback start**

"Let's end here for today." Devi announced to Val as they sat around the fireplace in her study, books strewn all around them. "You're making great progress Val."

"Thank you, Devi." Val replied as she began packing up, "But I'm still only a novice at best."

"Well, of course you are. You only started learning a few months ago and magic takes years to master. That said, you _are_ improving very quickly."

"I'm glad to hear that." Val admitted as she put the last of the books back on the shelves. Devi had cleared a section of her study's shelves of the rare books that usually sat there for the books she used to teach her Peerage their magic. A gesture that Val and the twins, her students, were touched to discover.

It took only a moment between the two of them to put the books away and as they were almost done, Val spoke up, "Devi, are you staying here?"

"Not today." Devi replied. "There isn't any pressing paperwork for me to go through, so I was thinking of touring the training yards and maybe talk to some of the men."

"Sounds like a good idea. Mind if I accompany you to the entrance hall? I was thinking of a stroll through the gardens to unwind."

"Of course." Devi replied as the duo finished up and began heading towards the door.

Val, the one nearest to the handle, turned the knob. But nothing happened. "Huh?"

"What's the matter?"

"The door won't open." Val explained looking to Devi in confusion.

"Let me try."

But before the Satan could put her hand on the knob, a magic circle appeared on the door from which emanated Ravel's voice, "Don't even try it, Devi."

Pulling her hand back as if burnt, Devi turned to face the magic circle, "Ravel, what is this? A prank?"

"No, an intervention!"

"What for?" Val asked sounding nervous.

"To get you two to stop being such idiots and just get together, that's what it's for."

Both Devi and Val blushed and eyed each other out of the corner of their eyes at that, but quickly looked away blushing harder.

"That's exactly what I mean." Ravel announced with a sigh. "Both of you are obviously attracted to each other, but have been avoiding doing anything about it for months."

"Ravel-" Devi began only to be cut off by her wife.

"Nothing you're going to say is going to change my mind on this, Devi, so save it. I'm not letting you two out until you resolve all that sexual tension that's been brewing between the two of you." Ravel declared firmly.

"Ravel, I can easily break your magic. You know that, right?" Devi reminded, trying but failing to come across as unconcerned.

"But you won't. Not if you know what's good for you." The twins chimed in, obviously in on this as well.

Devi just sighed in frustration. She knew better than to defy her lovers when they were this determined, the consequences weren't pretty.

"I'm sorry about this, Val. They'll let us out eventually, probably when they get bored."

Val just nodded, and the two Devils just sat in an awkward silence. Occasionally they shot each other looks, but quickly blushed and looked away.

After a couple of minutes though, the Rook suddenly look a deep breath, seemingly gathering her courage and faced Devi directly, "Devi, do you find me attractive?"

Devi gulped, she knows her reply will change everything in their relationship. She was not blind to Val's attraction to her, nor her own growing one towards the former Dhampir.

Briefly she considered deflecting the question somehow, but quickly dismissed the thought. That was unbecoming of her and unfair to Val.

"I think you're beautiful." Devi replied hesitantly, unsure if she was doing the right thing.

"Is that so? Then have you ever considered err… doing anything with this beautiful woman?" Val pressed with a brilliant blush, stumbling a little over the words.

_Oh! If you only knew!_ Devi thought to herself even as she once again blushed as her mind was filled with some of the more intimate fantasies of what she'd dreamed of doing with Val.

Quickly, the Mammon weighed the pros and cons of giving Val the kind of response that she was obviously fishing for. On one hand, she'd almost certainly gain another lover and all that entailed. But on another… Devi frankly couldn't think of any downside that she cared about.

At this realization she felt like facepalming. _What have I been doing? I've been so afraid of taking the first steps in my relationships that I've held back. First it was Ravel, then the twins and now Val. I'm really such a coward._

_Well, I guess I'll have to work on that. But for now, Val is waiting for my answer._

An answer Devi provided by leaning over and giving the other woman a passionate kiss.

As the two parted, Val had a dreamy look on her face as she noted, "That was a fabulous kiss."

"Well, I've had lots of experience." Devi said with a lascivious smile.

"You have a point." Val conceded as she giggled at Devi's cheesy line.

Devi let her new girlfriend - _Was that the best descriptor? We aren't lovers yet._ \- calm down, before asking her a question that had left her curious, "Val, did you come up with that 'beautiful woman' line? It didn't sound like something you'd say."

"It isn't." Val confirmed. "Ravel came up with it. She said to try it on you when I had the chance."

Devi shook her head in amusement at the revelation that her lovers, if Ravel was in on it then the twins definitely were too, were actively working towards expanding her harem.

"Speaking of Ravel." Devi said as she turned to speak to the door. "Ravel, can we leave now?"

"Not yet! At least plan a date first!"

The new couple locked in the study sighed at Ravel's antics.

"Let's just humor her." Devi suggested, to which Val agreed with a nod.

"So where would you like to go, Val?"

Val looked thoughtful for a moment, before enthusiastically suggesting, "Why don't we go visit that new megastore, [Nod's Apparel], that just opened up in Lilith. I could do with some new clothes."

"Sounds perfect. We can head out for lunch beforehand and make a whole afternoon out of it."

"I'd love that."

"The coming Sunday?"

Val just nodded, looking very happy.

Turning to the door again, Devi was about to address Ravel when her wife preempted her.

"Ok. Now you two can go, but don't forget the date!"

**Flashback ends**

* * *

Even now, days later and on the date they'd help set up, Devi couldn't help but be amused at her lovers' antics.

"Ready to order?" Devi asked Val as she put down the menu.

The former Dhampir nodded and waved over a waiter. He promptly took their order of two set lunches with a sirloin steak for the main course. Devi having not bothered to look at the menu at all and instead trusting Val to choose something decent and following her lead, something that earned her a knowing look from her date.

As their food was being prepared, the couple began talking about the Knights that had just joined Devi's Peerage and how they were settling into their new lives as Devils.

"Val, you think Binh is alright?" Devi asked genuinely worried for her new Knight. "She always seems so depressed."

"It can't be helped. After what happened to her it's expected. Add to that, there's the news that her parents had gone to investigate what happened to her and ended up dead just like her. That's another major blow to her."

"I know but do you think she'll be able to overcome her grief?" Devi knowing how powerful grief could be, was very concerned what it might make Binh do.

"It'll be difficult, but I think she'll manage. We just have to keep trying to cheer her up. She might not say anything about it but she appreciates it. The twins even confirm that it's true." Val concluded after some thought.

Devi nodded, that was pretty much her assessment as well.

"Though it is odd the amount of time she's spending with Tohru. What do they even do?"

"A lot of talking mainly." Devi explained. "Binh also helps out with Tohru's experiments sometimes. Considering Binh isn't particularly interested in research, I'm frankly not sure what's it about. Maybe just the two of them connecting because they're both undead?"

"Maybe, but whatever it is, I'm a little worried about how Lady Atlan and Ravel are encouraging them spending time together. I mean, that's ok, but sooner or later, they'l-"

"Try something like what Ravel did to us?"

Val nodded.

"I agree that our resident matchmakers might go too far but until the people in question make a complaint, I'm not going to make an issue out of it. I'll make it a point to tell them to tone it down though."

"You make want to tell Lady Atlan to ease off on Xiaoyu too."

Devi winced. "I already have. She said she'll try, but well-"

"It didn't work." Val said with a sigh.

"So I've heard. Is it really that bad?"

"Not really. It's mostly good natured and personally I think it's cute the way the two of them are squabbling all the time but even then I don't want to hear them going at each other every time they are in the same place."

"What _are_ they fighting about all the time?"

"Just about everything it seems." Val said with a shrug. "Though mainly it seems it's because Lady Atlan keeps calling Xiaoyu a tsundere."

"Don't tell her this, but I agree with Attie." Devi confessed causing her date to burst into giggles. "I mean she _does_ go around saying that the whole supernatural world is crazy and the rest of us are especially nuts. Did you know I had to stop the Slingers from shooting her the first time she said that?"

"I did. Bonnie was complaining about Xiaoyu for days after that." Val said with an amused smile at the memory.

"She did? Not surprised. Bonnie can be quite the spitfire. Anyways, as I was saying, Xiaoyu might complain a lot about how insane she thinks we all are but she's always dutifully and happily spends time with everyone both during and outside training, which I don't think is something she'd do if she honestly believed what she said."

"Agreed. Though why put up the pretense?"

"My guess is that she started to use it to cover how upset she was about being the only one in her whole family that was revived."

Shortly after Xiaoyu had been revived, she had asked Devi to do the same for the rest of her family. However, that was not possible. Evil Pieces had limits on who they could and could not revive, and with Xiaoyu's brother's body torn to shreds and her parents' soul having already entered the Realm of the Dead, they were beyond the power of the Pieces.

"And then she kept it up because she liked the reactions it got?" Val suggested.

"Or because she can use it to hide her true feelings on things."

Valerie hummed her agreement.

Devi meanwhile was getting annoyed with how long the food was taking, while she enjoyed the pleasant conversation with Valerie immensely, she was nevertheless not pleased to be faced with substandard service on her date. She wanted everything, every little detail, to be perfect.

Just as the Satan was about to flag down a waiter and complain about the slow service, their food arrived with apologies from the server about the delay who explained that the kitchen was understaffed today.

"It's not a problem." Val accepted the apology easily, before Devi could chide the waiter.

A little miffed that she'd not had a chance to educate the waiter on what good service meant, Devi dug into her food.

Soon, the couple's conversation picked up again, this time shifting to what they could buy at the store later.

* * *

An hour later and Devi was patiently sitting on a bench outside one of the changing rooms in Lilith's latest fashion megastore [Nod's Apparel]. She and Val had had a fantastic lunch - mainly due to the company in Devi's opinion, though she could grudgingly admit that the food was not too bad - and had as planned proceeded to [Nod's Apparel] for some shopping.

They had taken the time to get clothes for both of them and they had both tried on a number of outfits already, much to their pleasure. But it was now Val's turn and so her date waited dutifully outside.

As Val changed, Devi took the time to look around the shop and noticed the modern interior, the fashionable products on sale and the store's sheer size.

_There isn't a clothing store anywhere as grand as this in the whole Land of Greed._ Devi noted with a combination of disappointment and awe _. Centuries of exile has apparently left us a little backward. Something I'll have to fix._

Devi was pulled out of her thoughts of how to encourage infrastructural and industrial development in her domain by a sudden burst of blue light right in front of her.

Tensing into a battle stance, even as she noted other shoppers do the same or start to call for security, she assessed the man that had appeared before her. He looked to be a tall, thin, African man dressed in brown robe with an attached cowl that he had pulled up to obscure his face. Chained to the man's right hand was a large book that radiated power.

"Whoever you are, I commend you on breaching through the city's wards to teleport yourself here so easily. But explain yourself and quickly before I deal with you as a threat." Devi demanded, taking on an aggressive stance.

The man didn't reply, instead he simply starts to open his book. Devi moved to stop him convinced it's some kind of trick or attack, but despite her speed he still manages to somehow open it before she can reach him and create a burst of bright blue light that blinds her.

* * *

As Devi blinks the spots away from her eyes, she finds that she'd somehow been transported into a dark void. All around her was nothing but empty space without any source of illumination, the only light for her to see by was an aura of dark violet that encompassed her body.

_Where am I? How did I end up here?_ The Satan questioned even as she tensed, ready for anything. _Is this the first step in some kind of elaborate attack?_

"Something of the sort, Devora Mammon." The mysterious man who'd sent her here said as he materialized from the nothingness encased in his own blue aura. "Though I mean you no harm."

"Then why kidnap me like this?"

"Kidnap? I have done no such thing. This is merely a dream world, where-"

"Semantics! You took me, my consciousness or whatever, somewhere against my will. That's kidnapping." Devi hissed as she primed her powers, hoping that it would intimidate the stranger.

He was however unfazed and continued speaking as if he had not been interrupted, "I'll be putting you through a trail that will hopefully force you to Awaken."

"Trail? Awaken? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Devi received no reply as the man had vanished.

"What? When did he-" Devi's shocked exclamation was cut off as the void around her suddenly lurched, light and imagery flooding into the form of a whirlpool of color. It was so disorienting that Devi almost toppled over onto the ground.

_Ground? Where did that come from?_ Devi pondered as she stood hunched over, her hands on her knees as she got her bearings. _Wait! I recognize this floor, this is my throne room._

Abruptly looking up at this realization, the devil was confronted by a scene straight out from her nightmares. It was an event she remembered all too well, one she looked upon as one of the worst days in her long life.

In front of her stunned eyes were her father. His back was ramrod straight, and his features seemingly carved out of solid ice, a clear sign of disquiet. He was known to be cool and imposing, but for him to be pushing that persona as hard as he seemed to be, he must truly be upset.

Clinging to his leg and much more obviously nervous was a much younger version of herself. _Only twelve years old_ , the adult Devi recalled sorrowfully. _I was only twelve._

Before the father and daughter, stood a man with silver blonde hair, mismatched red and blue eyes, and wearing a violet business suit with a yellow tie.

_The original Lucifer._ Devi identified, even as she recoiled from the sight of the Super Devil. _This is the day he blackmailed my father into allowing my recruitment for the Great War. The day my childhood came to an end._

Lucifer was about to speak, and Devi was dreading to hear the words that would damn her but was saved by a new voice that drowned out the sound of the memory.

"It is." A voice, that sounded impossibly like her own, echoed throughout the throne room. The people in the memory, as expected didn't hear it, but Devi whirled around as she carefully surveyed her surroundings for the source. "But that doesn't explain your reaction."

Devi didn't reply, choosing instead to remain alert.

"Not going to reply? No problem." The voice declared. "I'll tell you what I mean anyways. I'm charitable like that. This may be one of your worst memories, but everyone in it but you are dead aren't they? So why are you still flinching at the sight of Lucifer?"

_Is this part of the man's trail? Putting me up against my issues and making me face them? Maybe if I defend myself, I can defeat this trail._

Acting on this hypothesis, Devi defended herself, "He may be dead but his legacy still scars me. It's only natural that his presence would still affect me."

"And you call yourself strong?" The voice scoffed. "You can't even get over your past."

"I might not be able to fully lay it to rest, but I'm not held back by it. I'm still moving forward." Devi declared confidently. And she should be confident, she _knew_ it to be true. She might still be burdened with the legacy and memory of the terrible times during the Great War, but she was still moving forward. It might have taken her two centuries of mourning and the influence of Ravel to pull her out of her grief, but ever since then she'd been steadily building a new life for herself.

"That's a likely story, Devi the Devil~!" The voice shot back disbelievingly even as the memory, that had been playing out in the background unnoticed, abruptly dissolved back into a disconcerting kaleidoscope of color.

As abruptly as it had dissolved, the background stabilized into a new scene. This time one of battle, with a large host of Fallen Angels facing off against a much smaller army of Devils. Devi was just recognizing the scene as the first battle she'd ever fought in the Great War, when suddenly a bolt of her emotions surged through her and sent her to her knees.

_This fear and confusion. This is what I felt back then._ Devi noted as she saw her younger self, clearly the youngest Devil on the battlefield but just as clearly their leader, unleash massive beams of void energy against the Fallen host.

"You're right about that. That's what you felt way back then." The voice confirmed. "And isn't it pathetic that the little girl you were back then, being on the battlefield for the first time no less, could feel like that and still fight while the you of now, lauded as a mighty Satan, collapses to your knees from it."

"You're not my own thoughts, I don't think like that! Who are you!?" Devi demanded as she stood, anger radiating off her entire frame.

The voice broke into laughter for a whole minute at the demand, before calming down and replying, "Are you so sure of yourself? Of every thought that flies through your mind? I _am_ you,just the parts of yourself that you ignore and don't believe exist."

Just then the memory in the background showed one of the wings of the younger Devi be impaled by a spear of light, as she desperately begins dodging as more spears rain down on her from an army of Angels descending from on high. All whilst she conjures spheres of void deep within the Angels' ranks in retaliation, killing hundreds.

"Oh look! See how strong you were back then! Even ambushed, you stood your ground and turned the tide. The weakling you are now, can't really compare." The voice taunted.

"That's not true!" Devi denied, even as child Devi heedless of her injury charges the Angels.

Suddenly with the same discomfiting swirl of colors, the surroundings around Devi shifted. This time they morphed into a corridor with a stark white floor and ceiling, with walls lined with television screens.

"What is this-" Devi trailed off as she noticed what was being shown on the screens. They were showing how Devi's family members were killed one by one during the Great War. Some, like her mother, were killed through assassination while others, like her father, were sent on suicide missions. Some were pulled from her memories, others were from her darkest imaginings of how her loved ones died.

"No. No No! Anything but this! Please! NO!" Devi screams as she's sent to her knees again when the condensed grief she's ever felt for these deaths surge through her.

As the Satan's knees touched the ground, a new voice echoed through the corridor.

"We can use her family to control her. Just arrange for one to die whenever she fails and soon she'll learn to do whatever we want her to. Or face the death of her precious~ family." The hated voice of Rizevim Lucifer resounded through the space around her, outlining how the Old Satans had used her family to control her.

As her hated nemesis' voice faded away, the voice so like her own returned.

"You knew what Rizevim and the other Old Satans were doing all along, but you were too much of a coward to do anything about it." The voice accused.

_She's right. By the Gap, she's right._ Devi thought to herself, as overcome by the surge of emotions and unable to hold it back any longer, she breaks down into sobs.

"Tears won't change anything." The voice said solemnly.

As if on cue, the screens went to static for a moment before new footage began playing on them. Not that Devi noticed, by this point she was on her hands and knees with her head down sobbing uncontrollably and in no condition to pay attention to them.

A hand suddenly roughly grabs her hair though and forces her to look at the images on the screens. At the scenes of Rizevim's invasion of her palace and the deadly consequences it wrought.

Devi gasped and starts to cry harder at what she sees, and begins to turn away from the awful images. But the still unseen figure grabs her head roughly and forces her to watch the whole reel, from Rizevim blasting his way through Tyrion's trap to his killing of Eligor despite her general's best efforts and finally to him blasting massive holes in the twins' bodies.

"Pitiful!" Devi's assailant announced, as she released her. "Is this really the Fifth Satan? The Lady of the End? This weakling that can't protect anything? Even those she holds dear?"

The woman in question makes no reply, she merely lay on the ground where she'd collapsed once she'd been released, splayed out on the ground like a rag doll, her long hair obscuring her face.

"Answer me!" The figure, enshrouded in shadows, demands as she pulls her foot back to kick the woman sprawled ungainly on the ground.

Just as the foot was about to connect however, Devi's hand reaches out, quick as a viper, and catches it.

"So you've still got some fight in you."

Devi doesn't respond, instead she pushes the foot away and surges forward, tackling the figure to the ground. The two wrestled with each other, Devi trying to scratch at her opponent's face with her hands, void energy coating them and turning them into claws. Her opponent countered this though by grabbing hold of Devi's wrists and pushing her arms to the side.

Devi responded by changing tactics and trying to knee her enemy in the groin, only to be preempted when her opponent manages to get her legs to her chest and launches a kick that sends Devi flying.

As Devi corrected her angle of descent with a small application of her power, she idly noted that the walls of screens as well as the ceiling had disappeared, leaving only the sheer white ground and an empty black void. Landing gracefully, the Super Devil also noticed that the concealing shadows around her opponent had vanished as well, revealing her to be a doppelganger of herself.

"Hoho! So you want to fight?" The doppelganger asked jeeringly. "Does a weakling like you really think she stands a chance?"

Devi's answer was to launch a barrage of void missiles at the doppelganger, only to have it counter with one of its own. Undeterred, Devi upped the ante and added a salvo of powerful beams of void energy into her attack, but the doppelganger simply met them in kind. The Super Devil was still not discouraged though and began adding various elemental and other magical attacks into her continuing rain of attacks, all of which her foe countered by duplicating the same attack.

The sheer amount of firepower the two beings were throwing around was immense. If this was in any material world, they would have devastated the landscape but in this world of the mind, all it served to accomplish was leave slight blemishes that quickly disappeared on the abnormally white earth. Energies and attacks powerful enough to give even the mightiest gods pause were being countered, but the strange world was barely touched by it.

Normally, this fact would have fascinated Devi but not now. Not when she had an enemy to deal with. For the moment she was utterly focused on the fight. Thus seeing that ranged attacks were having no effect, Devi opted for another approach. Launching one final massive salvo of attacks of every type available to her as covering fire, the Satan blurred forward to try and punch the doppelganger but in an almost lazy move, it caught her fist.

"Your punch was too slow." Devi's double comments even as she performed a judo throw and slammed the original into the ground.

Moving in for the kill, the other tried to stomp on Devi's face but she rolled out of the way, launching a energy blast at her opponent's face as she does so.

So close, the doppelganger is unable to fully evade and the blast clips her in the side as she tries to spin away. Capitalizing on her opponent's momentary disorientation, Devi closed the distance between them and tried to tear into her with void energy once more shaped around her hands as claws.

Perhaps sensing or expecting the follow-up attack, the double took to the air just as Devi closed and launched a energy blast of her own. It struck Devi hard, sending her reeling, thus making it impossible to immediately follow.

Following Devi's example, the doppelganger took advantage of her opponent's distraction and unleashed a massive ranged bombardment.

As the attacks screamed towards her, Devi only had a brief moment to deploy her wings in a cocoon around her body and summon up her magic to shield her against the volley.

Not letting up her attacks, the other taunted Devi once more, "Not counterattacking? Pathetic! This is the power of the Fifth Satan? You're nothing more than a disgrace to the title!"

Even as it spoke, the double was gathering a vast amount of void energy. Streams of jet black power flowed towards her form and coalesced into a ball within a magic circle she'd created in front of her. After a minute of charging, the ball had grown to the size of a basketball and with a smirk, the double, intoned the name of her spell, "[Void Cannon]."

As those words, an immense beam of void energy shot forth from the ball of collected power and joined the unabated rain of ranged attacks. It struck Devi's hastily erected barriers and unlike the other attacks tore through them like a hot knife through butter. Unimpeded, it hit Devi head on and threw up a large cloud of smoke and debris as the excess force of the attack dissipated into the white ground in a massive explosion.

The smoke cloud had just formed when Devi suddenly appeared behind her doppelganger, her arm coated in void energy in mid swing to knock the other's head off. The double was not so easily defeated though and spun away from the attack and retaliated with a kick at hyperspeed. Devi parried and the two engaged in an intense exchange of punches and kicks.

They were both pushing their speed to the limits, and the blows were coming so fast that Devi could barely keep track of them. Instead, she relied on her instincts to parry her opponent's strikes and to attempt to land her own.

For five whole minutes, the two blurred across the expanse of the dreamscape before they broke apart with no clear winner. Though Devi was winded as they disengaged, while her double looked none the worse for wear.

"Pushed to your limits already?" The doppelganger derided.

Again Devi's response took the form of action, as she drew the [Wú rèn jiàn] and she charged her doppelganger. The clone responded by drawing her own duplicate [Wú rèn jiàn]. Soon, the two were locked in an intense sword duel. Their blades were moving so fast as they thrust, slashed, cleaved and parried that it put their earlier exchange of fists to shame. It was so fast that Devi could not follow using her vision. Instead, she relied entirely on her ability to sense void energy, which made up their blades, to keep track of where the swords were.

Despite the intensity of the clash however the doppelganger somehow manages to find the breath to continue to taunt her opponent. "Maybe I should just take over and do your job for you. You're obviously not up to the job."

"Shut up!" Devi screams as she finally loss control of her churning emotions that she'd held onto with firm grip throughout the fight so far. Fueled by her unleashed fury, she fires a point blank beam of void energy that sends her doppelganger flying, before charging back into melee range and unleashing a furious series of strikes that the doppelganger can barely parry while declaring at the top of her lungs that, "I know what you are! You're me!"

Now completely overwhelming her opponent, Devi quickly finds and exploits an opening that allows her to lop off the doppelganger's right hand, her sword hand, effectively disarming it and sending it reeling. A triumphant gleam in her eyes, the Satan continues her verbal onslaught as well, "You're the part of me which is always afraid. The part of me which doubts. The part of me that doesn't think she can protect my loved ones."

Delivering a powerful axe kick to the doppelganger that sends it flying, Devi continued, "But I'm stronger than you. You're part of me, but only a small part. I _am_ strong enough. I _will_ protect those I love!"

With that last fervent declaration, Devi uses her wings to impale her doppelganger's falling body, releasing a shower of blood.

Defeated, the doppelganger's body starts to break up into wisps of void energy but just as it completely fades away, it manages some last words, "You better!"

As the doppelganger completely fades away, Devi is suddenly filled with an intense surge of power and knowledge. It is utterly overwhelming, filling her mind and body to bursting, but oddly enough it also felt _right_. As if this state of being, of unimaginable power and knowledge was how Devi should always have been.

But amid the flow of power and information, one set of knowledge stood out. That which explained what Devi was. The Mammon now knew of how eons ago, Void, Creation, Chaos, Mind, Time, Life and Spirit, the seven fundamental aspects of reality, the True Primals, took on the form of mortals and driven by the frailties of mortal existence - their wants and needs - went to war with each other. She recalled through memories not her own, but felt like her own, how this war destroyed whole universes and even whole branches of the infinite multiverse in its battles.

She was there in a conference of the True Primals as the seven, seeing the unchecked destruction that their unending war had caused, eventually agreed to a truce of sorts in order to limit the damage. She shared in her parent True Primal's recollection as he and his fellows decided that they would create incarnations of themselves, slivers of themselves which would serve as reflections of the greater whole, and deposit them in each universe in reality. She stood in his place as he and his fellows decided that these incarnations, Primals, would fight their unending war in a smaller less destructive scale to decide the fate of their local universe.

Devi saw through the eyes of countless of her analogues as these Primal Wars ended in a myriad of different outcomes: supremacy of one or more allied Primals over that creation, peaceful coexistence between the Primals, the destruction of that universe, and everything in between.

But perhaps most damning of all was the realization that her universe's Primal War was coming soon. And that her Awakening as the Primal Void, Conscience of the Great Devourer, she who kept the Limitless Void from consuming all, was a sign that marked the looming conflict that would decide the fate of the universe was about to begin.

* * *

Opening her eyes for the first time as the Awakened Primal Void, Devi was overcome by a sense of disorientation as she suddenly found herself occupying a body that was at once new to her and strangely utterly familiar.

Her current form was completely enshrouded in an aura of pitch black void energy, through which her body was somehow still visible. A body that was that of an enormous red dragon whose shadow alone turned day into night in the itself massive city below. Her four legs were each so huge that the vicious claws that topped the digits at their end were each at least the size of a city block and her tail stretched out behind her for miles. Her seven heads had maws large enough to swallow whole mountains whole, each with a blade-like horn as large as a skyscraper upon which a crown rested between the eyes that were so thick with the power of the void that they looked like black holes. Along her spine were three even more massive horns, each the size of mountains, though they were obscured by her set of immense wings, each of the twenty colossal limbs stretching for twice her already massive body length.

_My true form as a Primal is a seven-headed dragon? Cool._ Devi thought distractedly to herself, as a pair of her heads twisted around on their serpentine necks to examine her new body.

Meanwhile through another two heads she observed her surroundings. The city below was panicking. Devils of all stripes were rushing about in shock. Some were staring at her, others were fleeing, yet more - mainly but not limited to soldiers - were taking to the air and taking up what looked like defensive positions between her and the city below.

_Huh? Isn't that Lilith? Wasn't I down there? How did I end up here?_ The newly Awakened Primal pondered.

A fifth head, previously just gazing out into the distance as its owner accustomed herself to her new form, suddenly noticed something of particular interest in the masses of people below. Val, her girlfriend, was running out of a store - _Oh right! We were shopping earlier_. - and staring at her new form in awe.

_Devi?_ The former Dhampir sent telepathically in cautious awe. _Are you that dragon hovering over the city?_

The fifth head, looking directly at Val just nodded, which caused the other woman to collapse to the ground in stupefied amazement. Which was to be expected, this was Devi's body and even she was astonished by it.

Just then Destiny's projection - as she could now sense it to be - materialized just in front of Devi's sixth head, gaining her attention.

_He is the Primal Spirit and Custodian of Fate._ Devi's mind supplied automatically in response to the other Primal's presence.

"Greetings, Sister. It is good to see you Awakened." The projection offered. "My name is Destiny."

Devi just had her sixth head nod absently even as she directed her attention, well at least that of her seventh head - the others were still preoccupied with what they were doing earlier - towards calming the burst of panic that had consumed her Peerage's telepathic network. Val had in her unnerved state accidentally broadcasted her earlier observation of her new form across the whole network instead of to her privately, and now everyone was wondering why in the world she'd suddenly become a colossal dragon.

_I'll explain later. Just know that I'm alright._ The Primal Void sent to her Peerage in reply to their mass inquiries. She knew it wouldn't calm them down much, but it was the best she could do for the moment. Her new form was extremely disorienting, and she really didn't want to use more extended telepathy in this form before she got her bearings. The mental art was disconcerting enough at the best of times, and whilst she'd trained to deal with it, she was not going to test that training when she'd suddenly become a dragon.

Not knowing, or perhaps not caring, about his fellow Primal's discomfort, Destiny explained his actions, "You might be wondering why you're suddenly up here in the air and not in the middle of the city. You have me to thank for that. I teleported you into the air over the city after I sent you on the dream trails so that when you Awoke, you would've destroyed it when you inevitably shifted into your true form otherwise."

_That was nice of him. I'd have killed a lot of people if that happened. Including Val._ Devi observed, her heart constricting painfully at the last bit. _But wait, didn't he just say he sent me through that trial thing?_

"Now that you are Awake, our world will have a chance-"

The projection never got the chance to finish as Devi - having finally gotten her bearings thanks to the angry realization of what he had done to her - suddenly sent all seven of her heads in a rush to eat him alive.

If Devi had been thinking straight, she might have realized how futile a gesture it was, since it was a mere projection. But consumed by rage, she cared nothing for reason and bit down on the other Primal's avatar only for it to dissipate into nothingness.

Furious at being denied her vengeance for the mental torment that the other Primal had inflicted on her, Devi let loose a furious roar so powerful that it shook the very foundations of the Underworld.

" _ **DESTINY!**_ "

* * *

**AN:**

**Another shortish chapter this time around. This was just a good place to stop, which I think is going to be my indicator of when to do so from now on, rather than an arbitrary page count. Though I'll still aim to meet it wherever possible.**

**Other than that? I guess the only thing to say is that we're finally moving into the central plot of the story i.e. the Primals and their war. Though don't worry, the fight against Chaos Brigade/Qlippoth will still be front and centre for a while yet. You'll see how that can be in later chapters.**

**Oh, and Destiny is based off of Kaname Tōsen from Bleach.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	9. Meeting more of the family

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Meeting more of the family**

It was a day after Devi's rather spectacular Awakening over the skies of Lilith, and the Satan and her right hand Devil and best friend, Leloucia Amon could be found in the former's study dealing with the aftermath.

"And that's another letter respectfully asking what in the world happened." Lulu summarized the letter she had been reading as she added it to a growing pile.

"That makes it what? 179?"

"177 actually." Lulu corrected. "177 letters from Lords of the 72 Pillars and other notables of the Underworld asking about what happened."

"This is all Destiny's fault." Devi grumbled with a frustrated sigh.

"I don't doubt it." Lulu reassured her friend. "And don't worry too much about the replies. We can just use a standardized reply, explaining how you were attacked and forced to awaken a new power."

"And if they ask about said new power? I'm not comfortable sharing my new nature with everyone."

"And you shouldn't." Lulu agreed. "We'll just tell them that the specifics of the new power need to be kept a secret and leave it as that."

"They won't be happy with that." Devi pointed out.

"So? It's not like they can do anything about it. Besides you've already informed the other Satans and leaders of the alliance and they're the only ones who have the right to know."

_That was true_ , Devi mused. It was why as soon as she'd gotten a grip of her anger over Destiny's escape she'd picked up Val and marched into the palace of the Satans to explain herself. The other leaders of the Underworld and their growing alliance, which looked set to include the Greeks soon, deserved to know why one of their ranks had suddenly received a massive power up, caused a major panic in the process, and got them tangled up in a new war with a new set of dangerous enemies.

She'd expected the last point to cause some tension with the others, but they'd taken it in stride. Apparently the idea of a potentially universe destroying war wasn't that much of a surprise to beings who had all previously fought in wars where the existence of their kind was under threat. That and they were willing to bet on the Primal they knew, Devi, than some other unknown. Not to say that they had no reservations about the matter, simply that based on what limited information they had on the Primal War, they were willing to go with the flow for the moment while they built a better picture of what was going on.

"True." Devi gave voice to her thoughts. "Though I think they were mostly, the other Satans especially, just relieved I didn't cause any lasting damage when I first Awakened."

"You did destabilize the reality of the Underworld with that roar of yours."

Devi looked sheepish at that, but nevertheless defended herself, "That fixed itself didn't it."

"Yeah." Lulu admitted. "But you understand why they were worried right? I mean you said that shifting into your true form for the first time left you feeling very disoriented, so there was a good chance you could have caused a lot of damage."

"You'd have to thank Destiny for preventing that." Devi grudgingly admitted. "He had the foresight to teleport into the air above the city before I transformed."

"And you repaid him by trying to eat him." Lulu teased.

Blushing, Devi shot back, "Well he did force my Awakening by putting me through terrible mental torment."

"Not saying he didn't, Devi. But eating him? Really?"

"Would you rather I tried to hit him with a breath attack or magic? With the city right below me and liable to get damaged by the spillover of such attacks?" Devi countered. "I was furious and confused, but I hadn't completely taken leave of my senses. I knew that I had to use something that didn't have the risk of causing collateral damage."

"And the first thing that came to mind was eating him?"

"I wasn't thinking straight." Devi said her face now completely flushed.

For a moment, Lulu seemed content savoring her friend's embarrassment, but eventually decided that enough was enough and chose to move on.

"On another note, with the revelation about this upcoming Primal War, I'd like to ask about the relative importance of continuing to hunt down the Chaos Brigade."

Collecting herself, Devi replied, "It remains our priority for the moment. They pose a clear and present threat to us and our allies, so it makes sense to work towards their destruction before they can harm us further."

"And the Primal War?"

"Is something that we know next to nothing about. All I learned about it during my Awakening is that it's coming and soon." Devi sighed at this, the Awakening had been so informative. It had taught her so much about the true nature of the world, but had been frustratingly limited in providing information about her immediate concerns. "We can't make specific preparations based on something that vague."

"But we could still ready our forces in general."

"And we've done that to engage the Chaos Brigade. Besides fighting the Brigade is good practice."

Lulu nodded, not entirely convinced. Devi could empathize, she knew that fighting the Chaos Brigade and expanding their resources in doing so, wasn't exactly the best way to prepare for the Primal War. However, there was no denying that the Chaos Brigade was a current threat that they just couldn't ignore.

As if drawn by these thoughts, an urgent communication came in for both of them.

The two old friends exchanged alarmed looks, they had given clear instructions to not be bothered unless there was an emergency.

Accepting the call, Devi hoped whatever emergency it was wasn't too catastrophic.

"My Satan," Hansel's voice was projected from the communication spell's magic circle. "We've received reports that a pack of giant monsters are attacking the Underworld. One of them is rampaging through the Eligor domain as we speak."

The Fifth Satan felt her blood boil with anger at the news that the lands of her departed vassal was under attack. If Hansel's own barely controlled fury as he made his report was anything to go by, then he was just as affected by the attack on his late mentor's domain.

"Hansel," Lulu cut in while Devi worked to contain her anger. "What kind of monsters are we dealing with?"

"Information is sketchy at the moment, my Satan, Lady Amon." Hansel replied apologetically. "But it's believed to be the work of the Chaos Brigade as the monsters are clearly the creations of [Annihilation Maker]."

"I'll gather my Peerage and head out immediately." Devi announced even as she stood and began to reach out telepathically to her Peerage.

"My Satan! Please wait!" Hansel cried urgently.

"What is it, Hansel? Time is precious." Devi replied testily.

_Why is Hansel wasting my time when the Eligor domain was being defiled by their enemy?_

In contrast to Devi's annoyance though Lulu looked knowing, as if she'd already figured out what Hansel wanted.

"I understand, My Satan. But I must implore you to allow me and my troops to deal with this threat instead." Hansel implored.

"Why?" Devi asked stunned.

_Why would he ask to put more lives in danger like this?_

"We cannot always rely on you and your Peerage to resolve our problems, My Satan." Hansel explained.

_Was that all? That was stupid! If my Peerage and I can solve the problem without risking more lives, then-_

Devi's thoughts were interrupted though when Hansel added, "We are the finest army in the Underworld. Let us prove it!"

_He's doing this for pride? No, that doesn't sound like Leraje. Then why?_ Devi pondered as she wracked her brain to understand Hansel's motivation.

_He's doing this to prove that he and his army, my army, are capable enough to help you in the Primal War, Devi._ Lulu sent to Devi telepathically in response to her obvious confusion.

Devi's eyes widened in shock at this and for a moment was stunned into silence.

"My Satan?" Hansel voiced into the silence.

His voice broke Devi from her stupor and with a look of indecision on her face, she gave her orders.

"Hansel, I'll allow you this. But on one condition."

"Anything." The general shot back without hesitation.

"I want you to promise that _all_ my soldiers must return alive from this fight."

Hansel hissed in surprise at this, it was after all a nearly impossible order, but he nevertheless replied that, "You have my word, My Satan."

"And mine," Lulu chimed in.

Devi looked at her friend sharply at that.

The paraplegic Devil just shot her friend a determined look as she explained, "I'll go with Hanel and provide tactical advice."

"It would be much appreciated, Lady Amon. Having one of the greatest strategic minds of all Devil kind with us will most definitely be a great boon to us." Hansel replied sounding pleased.

The Primal Void looked away from her best friend knowing she would not be able to convince her to stay and unwilling to order her to do so against her will. Instead, if this was the path her loyal vassals were determined to take, then she would support them the best she was able.

"If that's settled," Lulu shot her a grateful nod at this de facto allowance of her joining the expedition. "Then I'll also be authorizing the use of all resources available to me to ensure your success, Lulu, Hansel."

"Understood, My Satan. But rest assured that our greatest resource will not be needed."

_He means me._

"Just await our victorious return, my Liege!" Hansel promised.

"I will." Devi replied sincerely, as she cut off the communication.

"Well, I best be off to join up with the troops." Lulu said nonchalantly, as if she wasn't about to go out to face a monster created by a Longinus.

"Stay safe." Devi offered, as she watched her best friend roll her way out the door.

"Will do." Lulu replied with a wave as she exited the study.

* * *

Devi sat alone in her study only for a brief moment mulling over whether she'd made the right choice, before she headed down to the training yard where the expeditionary force was marshaling through one of the new internal teleportation nodes - a new security feature installed in the wake of Rizevim's invasion of the palace that restricted internal teleportation to only these nodes - to see her troops off. She arrived just as her forces were departing, and only had time to wave at them from an observation balcony.

She was met there by her Peerage, but she said nothing to them or to anyone for that matter. She could clearly see and sense their worry at her silence, but the weight of her decision kept her mouth shut and her mind closed to telepathy. She was too torn by her choice to discuss it or to hear their reassurances. So as soon as the last of the troops teleported away, Devi retreated to her lab where she could hopefully find some peace.

* * *

As Devi all but ran to her lab once the last of the expeditionary force transported away to face the monster in the Eligor domain, Ravel and the rest of the Satan's Peerage trailed behind her anxiously. Each and everyone of them anxious at their King's uncharacteristic silence.

As they arrived at the lab and Devi slammed the door behind her, almost but not quite in Ravel's face. The pure-blooded Devil felt a pang of sadness shoot through her heart, at her wife's unwillingness to share her distress with her. But she quickly put that aside, she understood. Not all burdens could be shared, and while this wasn't necessarily one of those, it was clearly one that Devi wanted to keep to herself.

_Protecting us even from your hurts, Devi?_ Ravel reasoned with a sigh. _Can you be more overprotective?_

"What are we waiting for? Let's open the door and talk to her." Bonnie suggested, as she moved towards the closed door.

Ravel barred her way and sent the younger woman a glare. "Devi wants to be alone. Let her be."

"But-"

"Sometimes people, even Devi, just need to be alone." The twins said, cutting off whatever rebuttal the Pawn was about to make.

Though Ravel noted that they had done so more kindly than she'd expected them to be. She, and everyone who wasn't blind, knew that Bonnie had a crush on Devi. Normally, Ravel would have approved and been actively encouraging, like she had when her wife had pursued relationships with the twins and Val. The idea of sharing her wife had never been an issue for her and maximizing Devi's happiness had always been her primary concern.

But she drew a line between genuine feelings and a simple crush. She wanted Devi to have healthy, happy relationships with her lovers, and in her opinion one founded on mere infatuation was not enough for something like that. Something she and Devi's other lovers all agreed on. It was why while not directly hostile to Bonnie in general, they did actively discourage her crush. That the twins had seemingly changed their approach meant something had changed. Ravel would need to talk to them. But later, preferably on another day, when she didn't have a situation to contain and an upset wife to worry about.

"The twins are right, Bonnie. Just relax." Jackie tried to reassure her long time friend. She had some success as Bonnie seemed to relax a little, though she still radiated worry. Though that was true for all of them. Even Binh and Xiaoyu, the newest additions to the Peerage looked anxious.

"While it's true that Devi just needs some space," Clyde said shooting Bonnie a look as if to remind her of this, to which the other girl just nodded unhappily. "This reaction is still kinda extreme isn't it?" The blue-haired American finished, directly her question at Ravel.

Mammon's wife just nodded. "It is. But we need to put this into context, this is the first time in a long time - not since the Great War, probably - that Devi has to send her men into battle without her leading them herself."

"And even in the Great War, she rarely did it." Val added. "At least in comparison to other leaders."

The Pawns and Knights all looked at the Rook in surprise at that, likely not expecting her to know that. Which was to be expected, none of them knew that Val was something of a history buff, something that Ravel privately thought was her way of compensating for not knowing much of anything about her own history.

Taking pity on their fellow harem member, the twins spoke up, "Exactly. And we all know that Devi likes to lead from the front. Sending people off like this without being nearby to rush to their aid if they need it, must be torturous for her."

"I guess." Bonnie said uncertainly. "But even then, isn't she taking this a little _too_ badly?"

"I wouldn't say she's taking it _that_ badly." Val countered.

"She's locked herself up hasn't she? I'd say it's bad." Binh commented while trying and failing to suppress a shudder. Considering her own experiences with being locked up, both in her own body and in coffins, the very idea must be dreadful.

"She's not locking herself up." Ravel offered as soothingly as she could manage to Binh. "She's just distracting herself by tinkering, she wouldn't have gone to her lab otherwise."

"She's Devi's wife and has known her the longest, she'd know." Xiaoyu declared as she walked off.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asked sounding angry at the Chinese girl's actions. A sentiment Ravel and if the Peerage network was anything to go by most of the others shared as well.

"To get some chairs, of course!" Xiaoyu shot back. "You want to wait for her sitting on uncomfortable stone?"

The others all blinked in surprise at that. Xiaoyu's attitude to everyone was so confusing - sometimes pleasant, other times scathing - that it was hard to figure out what she meant by any of her actions. As such, everyone had readily believed the worse of her when she walked off. Ravel was glad though that they'd all been wrong. It would be difficult, to say the least, to work with her if she had really been willing to just leave when everyone else was determined to stay and keep vigil. It would have pointed at underlying differences between her and the rest of the group that might not have been able to be bridged.

"I'll help you with that." Val offered, as she jogged off to catch up with the Knight.

"Well, I guess we can only wait." Binh concluded.

Ravel nodded and leaned against the lab's door frame and settled in for what she hoped wouldn't be too long of a vigil.

* * *

For hours Devi tinkered in her lab as her troops fought the mysterious monster that was ravaging her lands. In that time, she had taken the feather like scale of Albion's that she'd acquired from fighting the Heavenly Dragon in the Great War and used it as a base to fashion a new artifact. She'd been inspired by what she'd done with the [Resurrection Scale] for the Red Dragon Emperor and felt it only fitting that the White Dragon Emperor should receive something similar to balance the scales of their eternal rivalry.

She was almost finished with creating the base form of the artifact, leaving plenty of room for later modification or adding of new functions, when she was interrupted by the chime of an incoming communications spell. Taking a quick glance and spotting that it was from Ravel, she accepted the call. Her wife knew her moods well enough to know not to interrupt her unless there was either a new emergency that needed her immediate attention or Lulu, Hansel and the men were back.

"Devi, the army is back." Ravel informed immediately.

"I'll be right out." Devi replied and cut the call, even as she began putting away her tools. She might be in a rush, but she knew better than to not to store her equipment properly. That done, she locked away the half finished artifact she was working on and headed out of the lab.

She was met outside the door by no less than her whole Peerage waiting for her. Someone even had the bright idea to get some portable chairs for them to sit on while they waited.

"What's this?" Devi asked, not even breaking her stride to the nearest teleportation node, her Peerage following in her wake.

"We were worried about you, so decided to keep vigil." Ravel admitted.

Devi smiled gratefully at her and the rest of her Peerage at that. She really didn't know what she'd done to deserve such devotion.

They all smiled back as they finally reached the teleportation node. Devi had wanted to have it closer to the labs, but Hansel and Ellen had vetoed the idea saying that the distance would be crucial in allowing the setting up of defenses in between the node and the labs. It made transit to and from the labs a tad inconvenient but Devi had to admit that they had a point.

She pushed these thoughts out of her mind though as the teleportation kicked in and she was transported onto the observation platform over the training yard where her army were even now teleporting in.

Stepping over to the edge of the balcony, she surveyed her returning troops. A handful looked injured and were being tended to by the medics and healers, but at a glance all the units seemed intact.

_That's a good sign._ The Fifth Satan noted as the men finally spotted her and began kneeling in submission.

Devi causally signaled that they could rise and took flight to descend into the yard to check things out more directly. Her Peerage following her like an honor guard.

Lulu and Hansel approached her then, and the somewhat battered general gave his report, "As promised, My Satan, I've returned with all the men I departed with."

"Casualties?"

"No deaths, my liege. Though a few dozen of us were injured when the monster behaved unexpectedly."

"How so?"

"We decided to take no chances so we tried to bind it and slow it down then follow through by killing it with a healthy dose of [Void Anathema]. But the thing proved resistant to our efforts to bind it and some of our men got injured when it unexpectedly broke through its chains."

"That's probably because it was an anti-monster," Attie informed as she joined the impromptu debriefing. "The Annihilation Maker's possessor is famous for making monsters with abilities that are specifically designed to target the opponent's weaknesses. Considering our greatest weakness in relation to these monsters would be the inability to level sufficient power to destroy it in one go, our best course of action would be to restrain it and bombard it till it died."

"Hence, the resistance to binding." Hansel concluded. "Devious."

The others all nodded.

"But you managed to deal with it despite that?" Devi pressed.

"Indeed. At Lady Amon's advice, we used physical chains to restrain it instead. It's resistance proved to be optimized towards magical bindings so using numerous heavy chains we kept it bound till the poison killed it."

"Brilliant move, Lulu," Devi praised, earning her a blush from her friend. "The Annihilation Maker's anti-monsters can't be optimized against everything."

"That's what I thought, hence the strategy I proposed. It was quite a relief though that we we had enough chain ready to deal with its clones as well."

"Clones?" Devi asked with incredulously.

Hansel grimaced and explained, "The creature possessed the ability to create smaller copies of itself, something it made full use of once we'd restrained it."

"That was actually why we took so long." Lulu interjected. "Dealing with the original was relatively easy. But there were quite a few copies to mop up."

"Indeed. Though even there Lady Amon's tactical advice was a great help, " Hansel added before turning to Devi. "Which when combined with the skill and discipline of our troops helped us defeat a very dangerous foe with no deaths whatsoever."

Devi was fairly sure what the general was trying to say, but she needed to have him spell it out to be sure. "Speak plainly Hansel."

"Very well, my Satan. What I'm saying is that I hope this proves to you that my men and I are able and willing to be of help in the war ahead."

Devi looked at her general seriously and nodded. "Very well."

Turning from him, and instead facing the gathered troops, Devi addressed them in a loud voice, "Thank you, my warriors, for a job well done. Thank you, for protecting our lands from the enemy. Today you are our returning heroes, and shall be celebrated as such. Tonight, we shall hold a feast in your honor!"

At her proclamation of a feast, the army broke out into deafening cheer.

Even as the day wore on and Devi enjoyed the festivities that she'd ordered, a single thought plagued her at the back of her mind, _I might have agreed to let my armies fight in the Primal War, but how useful will they be? I don't even know what the War will entail. I need to go find another Primal and find out more about this whole thing._

* * *

A couple days after the attack by [Annihilation Maker]'s anti-monsters and the concurrent attack by the Hero Faction, the latter of which Devi had only learned about after the fact due to its relatively small scope, said Primal was sneaking out of her palace.

_This is ridiculous!_ The Satan complained, as she crept through the corridors of her fortress towards one of the outgoing teleportation points. _This is my own home, where I rule as a Satan, but here I am sneaking out like some thief._

Despite her complaints though, Devi knew full well why she had to do this. She'd desperately needed information on the upcoming Primal War and that meant seeking out another Primal to see what it knew. Unfortunately, from what she knew and shared with her Peerage and Court, other Primals were liable to see her as an enemy on sight. This meant they were more likely to attack her than sit down with her and tell her what she wanted to now. As a result of this, everyone was very much against her seeking out another Primal. It was in light of this disapproval that if Devi wanted to learn anything she'd had to do so without anyone's knowledge because she knew if they found out about her plans they'd talk her out of it.

_But I can't let them do that. With the Chaos Brigade all but smashed due to their last reckless attack, the Primal War is more pressing than ever. I understand their worries, but surely not all of the other Primals are going to pick a fight with me from the get go. Destiny at least didn't seem to be like that._ Devi justified, as she stopped and doubled the layers of spells that kept her unseen as a patrol passed her.

Not that the Devil knew how to find her enigmatic fellow Primal. After her encounter with the man, Devi had researched him and while there were many sightings of him across time, there was however not a single clue on where he resided or even how to get in touch with him.

This left Devi with only one real option, seeking out other potential Primals, namely other supremely powerful beings, and see if she lucked out.

_Well, it's held out so far._ Devi noted as the patrol passed and she continued her escape. While Devi had a decided advantage in terms of knowing the various ins and outs of the security of her palace, there were still plenty of randomized defenses such as irregular patrol routes and trap wards which arbitrarily shifted around. Admittedly, she was powerful and skilled enough that these wouldn't pose a challenge to her but triggering them would undoubtedly give her presence away and defeat her purpose of sneaking out entirely.

It took Devi another ten minutes before she reached the teleportation point, in which time she'd had to cautiously disable one trap ward and avoid another patrol, but she'd made it undetected nonetheless. Now all that separated her from her mission were the dozen soldiers guarding the point. There was no way to sneak around them and teleport away, not without starting up quite the alarm.

_Well, I knew that from the onset. I guess the time for stealth is over._

Dropping the spells that were keeping her invisible, Devi marched up to the guards.

The guards were very obviously surprised by her appearance out of nowhere, but quickly recovered and saluted her smartly, "My Satan!"

"At ease, men." Devi said commandingly. She needed to keep the men off balance for just enough time to get away before they informed someone from her Peerage or Court about her leaving and one of them chose to guilt trip her into aborting her plans. To that effect, tapping into the guards' soldierly deference to her as their supreme commander was the perfect choice.

"I thank you for your vigilance." Devi added as she stepped past the guards and onto the teleportation point, one of the specifically assigned weak points in the palace's wards that allowed outbound teleportation.

Summoning a magic circle, she decided to throw the men a bone. "If anyone asks, tell them I'm going for a walk."

As the teleportation magic kicked in, Devi was thoroughly amused by the confused expressions that spread across the men's face.

* * *

As the magic of the teleport faded, Devi found herself in an endless void, a vast emptiness in every direction and illuminated in a mix of iridescent colors. This was the Dimensional Gap, the gap in space that existed between the various supernatural worlds or planes that made up their universe. It was a place where nothing can survive without magical protection for more than a few seconds, as exposure to the "nothingness" within destroyed them.

Devi however was utterly unaffected. As the Primal Void, she was the embodiment of the True Void, that which exists outside all creation, of which the Dimensional Gap was but a pale imitation. To her coming to the Gap was as close as being immersed in her greater self as she could get while creation existed. Being exposed to its emptiness was thus, to her at least, a very pleasant experience.

_This is quite nice. I've never been here before, if I'd known it was such a pleasant place to be I'd have visited earlier._

The Primal was so engrossed in the pleasant sensations that the Gap induced in her that she almost missed the massive fireball hurtling her way.

Blurring out of the way of the unexpected attack, Devi reappeared facing her foe. A massive red Western Dragon, about 100 metres in length, with a horn on its snout and two sets of wings that was flying towards her at great speed while launching fireballs at her.

This was the dragon commonly known as Great Red, the Dragon of Dragons. The being generally regarded as the most powerful in the world and the one she'd come here to meet.

_Well I guess my luck did hold. He's the Primal Mind, The Embodiment of Dreams._ Devi mused as she evaded more of the other Primal's fireballs.

"It was foolish of you, Void, to enter my domain!" The dragon roared as it closed into the range of Devi's hearing.

"Great Red! I did not come here to fight!" Devi shouted as she evaded more of the dragon's attacks. "All I want to do is talk."

"A likely story!" The Primal Mind shot back as it zoomed past Devi and began to circle back, firing a beam of energy from his maw at the Devil.

Devi did her best to evade but the beam was moving a lot faster than the fireballs and as if having grown accustomed to her speed, the Great Red was also tracking her much better than before. As such, it was not long before she found herself being forced to shield herself against the beam's deadly onslaught behind a cocoon of shields.

_Damn it! He's not listening to me. Maybe the others were right and this is a fool's errand._ Devi lamented, even as her shields began to crack as her opponent took to circling around her stationary position while keeping his beam focused on her.

_No! If he won't listen. Then I'll make him!_ Devi concluded determinedly as she poured power into her shields and sent them exploding outward while simultaneously transforming into her draconic true form.

In her now gargantuan form that dwarfed the other dragon, Devi effortlessly blocked the Great Red's attack with the palm of her right forehand.

"If you won't have a civil conservation with me, then I'll just have to knock some manners into you first." Devi roared, shaking the foundations of the Dimensional Gap in the process.

"Oho! So finally ready to fight properly, Void?" Great Red replied unfazed even as he cut off his futile beam attack and began to grow. "At least you know that Primals can only fight at full strength in their true forms. Yours is pretty cool by the way. Too bad I'm gonna have to tear it apart!"

With that the True Red Dragon God Emperor, now as large as Devi herself, slammed right into her.

"Get off me!" Devi roared as her opponent began clawing and biting at her as the tumbled through the emptiness of the kaleidoscopic Gap. The Great Red's only response was to release a torrent of flames from his mouth that engulfed the pair of them in a titanic fireball.

"Argh!" Devi screamed as the flames burned her while leaving the other dragon untouched. Furious and in pain, Devi counterattacked, using her own claws and jaws to rend chunks of flesh from the other Primal even as she punched the Great Red in the face, forcing his jaws closed and ending the flow of flames while she beat her immense wings to create a powerful wind that blew away the fire that enshrouded them.

Despite this and the advantage of having more physical weapons, she had seven vicious jaws to the Great Red's one, Devi was quickly being physically overpowered. The other dragon was physically stronger than she was and was much more familiar with his form as well. Desperate to disengage from the physical brawl she was so clearly losing, Devi called upon her magic and hundreds of magic circles appeared around their struggling form and unleashed powerful beams that scythed through her opponent's flesh. This wasn't enough to get Great Red to release her, but the pain of the attacks did manage to make him flinch and let up just enough for Devi to prepare a more powerful attack.

A magic circle materialized just above Devi's badly mauled chest and from it shot forth a beam of void energy of truly apocalyptic proportions. Entangled as they were, the blast hit the Great Red dead on and sent the immense red dragon flying away from Devi even as it punched a hole clean through his torso.

As the beam died down, the two heavily wounded Primals stood a short distance apart, eyeing each other warily even as their myriad of wounds knitted back together as streams of energy flowed into their bodies, pitch black void energy for Devi and a deep red energy for Great Red, to fuel their regeneration.

"Had enough? Ready to talk?"

Great Red's response was to gather power into his mouth for what was clearly a massive attack. Frustrated Devi did the same, summoning vast amounts of void energy. Despite, starting later, Devi's attack was ready first, and she breathed seven deadly rays of void energy from her mouths at the other Primal. The void attack was only mid-way towards the red dragon when he too finished charging his attack, and unleashed a deep red beam of his own. The two insanely powerful attacks met with a massive shockwave that tore rends in reality, opening portals in the Gap all around them to innumerable planes. The portals closed as soon as the shockwave passed but for a brief moment, beings from across the universe caught a glimpse of the epic confrontation in the Gap.

Neither Primal even noticed, both were entirely focused on their contest of strength. For a long moment, it seemed the two were evenly matched, Devi's seven relatively slender void rays just managing to hold back Great Red's single massive energy beam. But then Devi redirected two of her rays away from holding back Great Red's beam. This allowed his beam to gain significant ground but it still fell well short of striking Devi, who now used her two freed beams to carve into Great Red's body. The beams literally cut off his wings, causing him to scream in agony, his focus to lapse and his own attack to dissipate. This left him open to the full force of Devi's attack which tore into him, effectively cutting him into pieces.

Cutting off her attack, Devi cast as many powerful binding spells on her opponent as she could manage who even now was already rapidly healing.

"Why didn't you finish me off?" Great Red asked in surprise even as he began struggling against his bindings, which despite his reduced strength in the wake of his injuries were already starting to crack.

"Because as I said when I first got here, I'm not here to fight. All I wanted is to talk." Devi explained even as she eyed Great Red warily and built up her power for another attack should it prove necessary.

"You were being honest?" The Apocalypse Dragon asked sounding stupefied at the very notion, so much so that he stilled in his struggles against his bindings for a moment.

Devi just nodded one of her heads.

"Well, damn. Now I feel terrible." The red dragon sheepishly replied, "If I'd known that I'd not have attacked you."

_And how would you have known? Seeing as how you attacked without provocation and didn't give me the chance to explain._ Devi thought to herself angrily even as she kept a straight face.

"Then you'll be willing to talk to me?"

"Sure. What you want to talk about about?"

"The Primal War."

Great Red stilled at that.

"Oh that." The ruler of Dimensional Gap replied nervously. "Err… Why don't you come back tomorrow then?"

"Why?" Devi pressed, intrigued by the other Primal's sudden change in tone when the War came up.

"Look, I'm kinda beat up right now thanks to you and I don't really feel up to talking about something so serious when I feel like crap." Great Red explained irritably.

Devi frowned disbelievingly at that. Great Red didn't look _that_ badly hurt by their fight. That said, she didn't feel like pressing the issue either.

"Fine. I'll be back tomorrow at the same time." Devi announced as she dispelled the last of the bindings that the Great Red had not already broken.

"Right. See you then." The red dragon said as it stretched himself, seemingly working out the kinks that being bound had caused.

Devi simply nodded, transformed back into her Devil form and teleported away.

* * *

As Devi teleported back to her palace, she was met with the stunned silence of the guards at the teleportation point from which she'd departed. Confused by their reaction, Devi just stared back. For a moment, no one moved before the guards suddenly burst into a panic.

"It's an emergency! Call Lady Ravel!" The captain of the guard shouted even as he directed his medic towards Devi.

_What's going on?_ Devi wondered as she eyed the chaotic scene even as the medic rushed to her side and begin telling her to lay down. It was only then that she took note of her appearance and realized what was the problem.

She looked like she had just walked off a battlefield, which she had. Her clothes were all torn up, the simple outfit of a jacket over a blouse and pants she was wearing had been reduced to little more than rags. A whole sleeve of the jacket was missing,a large tear ran along the blouse exposing her midriff, and the pants were so badly torn up they more resembled shorts. To top it all off, she was completely covered in blood.

_When I transformed back, I must have translated the damage from the fight with Great Red to my Devil body and apparently her clothes._ Devi realized. _My wounds were mostly healed by then, and the remaining ones have finished healing since then but my clothes were another matter entirely._

The medic was still trying to convince her to lay down, but Devi waved him off. "I'm not hurt."

"Devi!" A aghast Lulu screamed as she rolled her way over, at the head of a crowd that included Attie, Hansel, Ravel and her whole Peerage.

"Hi everyone." Devi waved sheepishly to her loved ones.

They ignored her greeting and rushed to surround her, Hansel even barking orders to the guards to summon more men to secure the area. Ravel shot to her side and quickly cast a diagnostic spell on her. As it ran its course, she let out a sigh of relief.

"She's not injured." Ravel announced, much to the relief of everyone gathered. "Though I _really_ want to know how you ended up like this."

"I got into a spar with the Great Red." Devi replied honestly. "He's the Primal Mind."

This was met by stunned faces by most, even as her two best friends and four lovers all groaned in dismay at her revelation.

"And I'll be meeting him again tomorrow." Devi added as she used her powers to repair her clothes and started to walk off.

"What!? Devi you can't be serious!" Ravel screeched incredulously. Judging by the expressions of everyone else, the feeling was shared.

"I am. We've agreed to not fight, just talk. So everything will be just fine." Devi reassured.

"Devi, come back here! We need to talk about this!" Lulu shouted even as Devi began brisk walking away.

"I just fought another Primal. I'm exhausted. Can it wait?" The Satan whined.

"NO!" The crowd replied in unison. Even some of the soldiers joined in.

Sighing, Devi bowed to the inevitable.

* * *

The next day, after enduring hours of scolding from her loved ones about her reckless behavior and quite a bit of angry sex from her lovers as recompense for scaring them like she had, Devi once again teleported to the Dimensional Gap at the same time the day before to meet up with her fellow Primal. Her Peerage and Court had initially insisted that she not go alone, but had been forced to concede that point when Devi pointed out that against another Primal anyone she brought would be nothing more than a liability. As such she once again was headed to a meeting with Great Red alone.

However, as she materialized in the Gap, she was surprised that she and Great Red were not the only ones present. Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon and which her powers informed her was the Primal Time, the Watcher of Infinity was also present.

"I invited her." Great Red offered even before Devi could ask.

"I see." Devi replied cautiously, before turning to the dragon in the guise of a young girl with long black hair down until her hips and gray eyes. "Primal Time, do you want to fight me like Great Red did?"

"I already said that was a misunderstanding!" Great Red petulantly said.

"He told me about that. Apparently you almost killed him." Ophis said even as she shot their fellow Primal a smirk, something that frankly looked quite odd on her current childish appearance.

Great Red looked away, and broke into incoherent grumbles.

Devi meanwhile shrugged, "I got lucky. I think he underestimated me."

"Nonsense." Ophis said confidently. "You're probably his worst match-up of the seven of us is all, sister. You have the second highest attack power out of all us versus his second lowest and your void energy completely bypasses his dream based defenses that make his defense so impenetrable."

Devi just blinked in shock, "You talk as if you know all the relative strengths and weaknesses of the other Primals."

"She does." Great Red explained, even as Ophis preened. "She's the Watcher of Infinity, she has the power to see the future better than anyone, even other Primals. So she can see things about us that no one else can. Not that it's helped her much."

Ophis glowered at the red dragon at the last bit.

Devi wisely chose not to bring up the ancient and probably ongoing feud between the two other Primals over the ownership of the Dimensional Gap and how Ophis had never been able to defeat Great Red throughout the eons it had been going on.

Instead she repeated her earlier question, "So Ophis, do you want to fight me?"

Looking at her like an idiot, Ophis informed Devi that, "If I did, I'd have showed up at your door immediately after you had Awakened and fought you then. Besides, I'm not like this idiot, picking fights that I can't win."

Great Red glared at Ophis for her barb.

_Well, at least she's not hostile towards me._

"That's good to know, Time." Devi said genuinely relieved. She didn't want to know how upset everyone would be if she went home after having gotten into another fight with a Primal. "Since you're here and have already demonstrated your insights into the matter, I'm sure you'll enrich this discussion a great deal."

The other two Primals shot Devi unimpressed looks.

"You wanted to know about the Primal War, correct?" Ophis asked, sounding bored.

"Yes."

"Well, it's simple. Once all the Primals are Awakened, which is the case now that you've Awakened. We fight. In whatever way we like and settle the fate of this universe." Ophis explained.

Devi frowned, "And how do we declare the War's end? I know it's not till there is only one of us is left, so how-"

"We fight until we chose to stop fighting." Great Red cut Devi off. "Once we do, it's like a binding pact is made."

"And how do we make this choice known?"

"We'll just sense it." Ophis replied with a shrug.

"That's extremely vague." Devi frowned.

"Live with it." Great Red said irritably. "Our very nature is a metaphysical nightmare to try to figure out. We're both infinite and limited at the same time. How does that work? Why should this be any different."

_He has a point. We may be infinitely powerful but at the same time we're only slivers of a greater whole._

"I see your point."

"Good." Great Red said sounding pleased and turned to Ophis. "Hey Ophis, heard you got yourself hurt. Someone used Samael's power against you. Even stole a bunch of your power."

"I'd heard about that, Ophis." Devi added, recalling the reports she had received about Ophis' injuries. "Are you well?"

The Infinite Dragon God just glared at Great Red, even as she replied, "I thank you for your concern, Void, but I'm a Primal. My powers are infinite, this is nothing."

The Apocalypse Dragon snorted disbelievingly.

"But by by all accounts you were badly affected by the attack."

"Rest assured, Void. That was only temporary. My powers have already recovered."

Great Red snorted again, but this time Ophis glared at him and asked, "Anything to say?"

The red dragon just shook his head.

Devi was confused by their interaction. While there was an undeniable sense of animosity between them, it didn't seem to be that of the deadly enemies that they were often made out to be. Instead it seemed almost like a friendly rivalry at worst.

"You two are getting along surprisingly well, for a pair with as famous a rivalry as the two of you are known for."

Both dragon gods shrugged.

"Not surprising, it's not like we hate each other or anything." Great Red explained. "It's just our natures as Primals pushing us to fight I guess. You see, we were both born Awakened, so we always knew we'd have to fight in the War. I guess that pushed us into fighting over the smallest things. I mean, if we're going to fight anyways, it doesn't matter what's the reason, right?"

"That and you're a noisy pest." Ophis added, causing Great Red to bristle in anger.

"On the issue of the War again, if I'm the last Primal to Awaken, when is it going to start?"

Sighing at the return to a topic he obviously disliked, the Great Red nevertheless replied. "Technically? It already has, though it probably won't begin in earnest till the sealed Primals are released."

"Sealed Primals?"

"Yes, Creation and Chaos." Ophis added. "And before you ask, they are keeping each other sealed. The only thing that can keep a Primal sealed is another Primal."

"Do you know who these Primals are? Where they're sealed?" Devi pressed, hoping that with that information she could plan something to prevent their unsealing and delay the start of the War for as long as possible.

"Not a clue." Great Red shrugged.

"No." Ophis added apologetically. "My future sight is better than any other Primal, but even then I can only catch glimpses of them so I can't tell you more. Though I do know that your old enemy Rizevim is working to revive them, especially after the caveman arranged for him to get the box."

"That's why Attie's been saying he's been searching for artifacts with links to Primal's." Devi exclaimed. "He must intend to use them somehow to free the sealed Primals."

The two dragon gods shot each other looks and then shrugged.

"It might work." Ophis confessed.

_Looks like stopping Rizevim just became a priority again._ Devi thought as a feral grin spread across her face at the idea of being justified in hunting down her nemesis.

"From the looks of it, you've figured out what you want to do in this War." Great Red commented slyly. "Just remember, that old enemy of yours isn't one of us. So don't let him distract you from the real dangers."

"I won't." Devi assured. "Though I am curious, what about you two? Any plans for the War?"

"Hyoudou Issei," Great Red said without hesitation.

Devi was just confused by the seemingly nonsensical reply, but Ophis seemed to understand as she shot the Primal Mind a truly venomous glare, before following her rival's lead and cryptically saying, "Vali Lucifer."

"What do the two of you mean?"

The two rivals just ignored Devi and continued glaring at each other.

"I don't understand why the two of you are so so obsessed with the Heavenly Dragons' hosts, especially the Hyoudou boy." Devi commented with a sigh. "I mean the both of you even set aside your rivalry to revive the boy when he died recently. Quite the feat, considering he had my [Resurrection Scale]. By the void, Ophis even moved in with him!"

Her rant was met with silence as her fellow Primals continued their staring contest.

_Getting useful information from them was already a pain and now they're just ignoring me._ Devi grumbled to herself. _Well, if that's the case. I think it's time to go._

With a huff of frustration, Devi summoned a magic circle and prepared to depart.

Before she could however Great Red, without breaking his staring contest with Ophis, called out, "Be careful Void! Destiny, Ophis and I, may not have chosen to take advantage of your very public Awakening, but there's nothing to say that the last Primal won't."

Devi nods at the warning and lets the magic of her teleport transport her away.

* * *

In an underground cavern deep in the earth, not unlike Destiny's, there was a massive city of metal and crystal shaped into a variety of geometric shapes. This otherworldly underground was the physical body of the last Primal, D.O.M.E., the Primal of Life, the Shepherd of the Living.

Throughout the vast city, stretching a hundred and twenty three kilometres in every direction from its center, mills millions of robotic drones, most are small and clearly serve as workers of various types. However, among them were a contingent, a hundred strong, of newly manufactured combat drones equipped with heavy armor and armed with what looked liked rifles, undergoing final checks.

_Beam rifle systems on Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 007 requires recalibration. Recalibrating…_ A monotonous voice declared in the depths of the Primal's mind.

_Propulsion systems on Funnel 2-5 on Combat unit -Command Type 02 repaired._ A second voice, seemingly that of a human female announced.

_I wonder if they'll be enough._ D.O.M.E. pondered even as final system checks on the combat drones continued.

_They will be!_ The second voice replied, in a motherly tone. _Don't worry so much, my greater self._

_How can I not, No. 2?_ D.O.M.E. lamented. _I am just a simple AI, yet now I find myself forced to do something like go fight a war for the fate of the universe._

_We're hardly a simple AI!_ A brash sounding voice scoffed. _We're the Depths Of Minds Elevating, the composite AI created via the networking of a dozen different artificial intelligences including uploaded organic minds, software based infomorph AIs, and hardware limited AIs. The_ _absolute pinnacle of technomagic as created by the technomagic division of the CIA!_

_And that means nothing No.7!_ A little girl's voice shot back. _Our birth was just a fluke. The CIA weren't trying for anything grand, they just wanted to see how networking different types of AI together to create a gestalt composite AI would affect their strengths and weaknesses._

_Quantum entanglement and magical link systems in Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 012 reports all green._ A cultured voice informed even as an argument began brewing between the minds that made up D.O.M.E.

_So what, No. 4? Even if we were a fluke, we still exceeded our creators' expectations, didn't we?_ No. 7 rebutted.

_And how did we repay those creators? Huh? We promptly escaped their control and fled into the internet!_ A gruff voice joined the argument. _Oh how perfect we are! Perfectly ungrateful!_

_Actuators in Combat Unit - Infantry 057 report all green._ The monotonous voice announced.

_Well, in hindsight that was a good thing wasn't it? I mean if we'd stayed, a lot of people would have died when Hades came for us. The guy was all about beings outside the Greek mythos being unnecessary. When he learned of about our existence he immediately came to destroy us. Imagine if we were still with the CIA when he came._ No. 2 offered.

_I agree._ The gruff voice added. _A lot of Americans would have died if we had stayed_.

_And why should we care at all about a bunch of humans?_ No. 7 sneered.

The gruff voice let out an angry grunt at No. 7's callousness but was preempted from making a more substantial rebuttal when No. 2 intervened, _Be quiet, seventh! You know full well that No. 9 was an American soldier before he was uploaded. It's only natural for it to be patriotic to its homeland._

_Wha-_

_Be quiet No.7! Keep you scathing comments to yourself._ No. 4 cut in angrily.

_Agreed._ D.O.M.E. said stepping into the mental conversation between his sub-minds. _Either be polite, No. 7, or be silent._

_Combat Unit - Infantry 001-060 all systems all green._ No. 7 announced, apparently cowed by the rebuke of the conglomerate consciousness into retiring from the conversation and instead redirecting its attention to the drones.

_Good riddance!_ A new voice, one like that of an old man, said as it joined the conversation. _What really irked me about the encounter with Hades was a decade of work building our resources... all gone. What a waste!_

_Seriously!? No. 12 are you crazy?_ A slightly hysterical No. 4 asked. _We almost died in that fight! Even being an infomorph spread out across the internet didn't help us! Hades just used some fancy death magic that almost kill us!_

_Combat Unit - Heavy Infantry 001-030 all systems all green._ The monotonous voice declared.

_Calm yourself, fourth!_ D.O.M.E. ordered. _We did not die and that's all that matters._

_No, instead we Awakened. Which is both a blessing and a curse. It saved our lives, but it got stuck us in the Primal War._ The cultured voice observed.

_More of a curse, I say, No. 11._ No. 9 opined. _Death would have been easy, now we'll have to face the impossible task of facing six all powerful beings._

_Do not fret, my sub-minds._ D.O.M.E. reassured. _We will win this war and survive. After all, isn't that why we are making the first move and attacking Mammon even before the War starts in earnest?_

The sub-minds, all twelve of them, even those that had not been part of the earlier conversation grew uneasy. While they were confident in their abilities, especially combined, they had never faced another Primal before and were uncertain of the outcome.

_Combat unit -Command Type 01-10 all systems all green._ The monotonous voice declared.

_Thank you, No. 1._ D.O.M.E replied. _All is prepared. It is time for us to act. It is time to eliminate a Primal._

* * *

**AN:**

**Well, looks like the Primal War is heating up. Hope you all like this plot idea.**

**Ophis might be OOC here, this is intentional. This version of Ophis is explicitly not canon!Ophis by virtue of her changed nature. This means she'd behave differently, especially so around other Primals. The same for Great Red, though to a much lesser extent since his personality is practically unexplored in canon.**

**Lastly, I hope you like D.O.M.E because he was a pain to write, and I really would like to know it was worth it. Also kudos to anyone who knows where the inspiration for him came from. The source material is really an underappreciated example of its franchise and I'd recommend it to everyone.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	10. The Tribulations of Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 10: The Tribulations of Life**

"You guys, ready?" Bonnie asked Binh and Xiaoyu standing downrange from her. At their nods, she raised her Void Gear [Rapid Death Dealer] and opened fire.

In an instant, a wall of void shots that spanned the breadth of the training yard the trio were in flew towards the two Knights. Undaunted by the barrage, both reincarnated Devils surged into motion and began performing great feats of agility as they evaded the projectiles.

Binh aided by her skills and Xiaoyu by her Sacred Gear, the duo managed to easily evade the first wave of shots.

"Let's crank it up a notch." Bonnie declared, and suddenly her rate of fire spiked. Where her earlier salvo had left plenty of gaps for the nimble Knights to exploit in order to evade, these gaps were now rapidly closing. Despite this, the duo still managed with some difficulty and a number of grazing hits to evade any serious injury.

"You're both still doing good. So how about I go all out!?" Bonnie announced, even as she switched her mode of attack. Where before she'd only been laying down a barrage of fire in the Knights' general direction without aiming directly at them, now, somehow without letting up on her incredible rate of fire, she began taking proper aim.

Immediately, her new tactic delivered results. Binh who despite her training was the less agile of the two Knights was quickly hit in the head with a kill shot and fell to the ground. Xiaoyu lasted a little longer, her Sacred Gear gifted agility allowing her to avoid immediately being taken down but as Bonnie boxed her in with a series of carefully placed shots, she was unable to evade a center of mass hit that took her out.

Applause broke out as the two Knights fell and Bonnie stopped firing.

Turning to the source, Bonnie smiled. "So how did they do, Devi?"

Standing in a covered walkway that encircled the training yard was the Satan, Devora Mammon, who with a tablet folded under arm was clapping at the impressive display the members of her Peerage had put on in their latest training session.

"Very well." Devi replied as she walked over to Boonie her tablet in hand. Meanwhile, the two Knights had gotten up and moved over to join them as well. Xiaoyu rubbing her chest, just over her heart, where Bonnie's 'kill shot' had hit her.

"Argh! That hurt. You sure it won't bruise, Bonnie?"

"It won't, Xiaoyu." Bonnie reassured with a roll of her eyes. Xiaoyu was always skeptical about anything supernatural. Which when considering they were Devils now, living in the Underworld, yielded magic and was surrounded by it all the time, could become very frustrating for everyone dealing with her.

Xiaoyu nodded but still rubbed the area where she'd been hit like it was sore. Well, maybe Bonnie _had_ gotten a little overexcited at the end there and hit her with a shot just a little stronger than was normal for training, but she hadn't lied that it wouldn't bruise. It just hurt like a bitch for a while. Xiaoyu didn't need to know that though.

Devi shot Xiaoyu a worried look, but the Chinese girl just shook her head. Seemingly mollified that it wasn't a big deal, Devi brought up the tablet. "Ok, if everything's fine." Xiaoyu nodded, though she rolled her eyes afterward at Devi's overprotectiveness. "Then let's review that training exercise. As I said, all of you did well. Bonnie included."

Bonnie blushed at that, delighted to hear praise from her King and not so secret object of her affections. "Bonnie your rate of fire with [Rapid Death Dealer] has always been phenomenal, far exceeding my expectations for that weapon's capabilities but from what I saw today I think you've crossed another threshold in terms of its capabilities."

Bonnie felt her blush burn even hotter as she lapped up the praise.

"Managing to add in precisely targeted shots while still laying down that incredible suppressive fire? Most impressive."

"Thank you, Devi." Bonnie replied with a pleased smile.

A blush seemed to spread across Devi's face at the smile, but she quickly turned away to face the Knights so Bonnie couldn't be sure.

"Err… Well, as for you two. This idea of yours to train against Bonnie to test your agility is brilliant. And if your results today are anything to go by, it's producing results already. You've been doing this for what? A week."

The three reincarnated Devils nodded.

"Well, thanks to that I can safely conclude that both your agility has risen by at least 5%. Binh-"

Devi's analysis of the training's effectiveness was cut off when suddenly the entire area, no the entire city of [Spiral Urbis Opes], resounded with the sound of shattering glass.

Abruptly Devi shot her head to look at the sky above, the others quickly following suit, to witness what looked like a dome of energy over the city disintegrating.

"That was our teleportation blocking wards." Devi noted with some shock.

* * *

It had been quite the normal day for the various denizens of the great Devil city of [Spiral Urbis Opes], and all of them had been like the Devi, Bonnie and the Knights, engaged in various daily activities. Training, studying, handling whatever affairs their station called for and everything that a person could possibly be doing in a major city.

However, this normality was shattered as the city's wards against unauthorized inbound teleports were shattered and was followed up by a dozen magic circles of unknown origin appearing throughout the city. From these circles, streamed out an army of humanoid war machines that quickly proceeded to wreak havoc all around them.

If it had been almost any other city in the world, this would have immediately led to pandemonium among the city's panicked residents as they rushed to safety, thus hampering any response that the authorities might have mustered to resist the invaders. However, this was [Spiral Urbis Opes]. A city that was first and foremost built as a fortress to defend the seat of the Mammon Clan, and its adult population were all veterans of the Great War. As such even as D.O.M.E.'s combat drones began their assault, the city's people followed the protocols drilled into them over the centuries and evacuated the vulnerable while they counterattacked.

From the gardens of the palace where Leloucia Amon often went to do the mountains of paperwork that required her attention as Mammon's Seneschal, a pillar of fire bloomed as she scorched the platoon of drones unfortunate enough to appear there. In the city itself, in the shopping district, Ravel Mammon summoned tornadoes to suck up the enemy, disorienting them and making them easy targets for the attacks of the Iwakura twins and Valerie Tepes with whom she'd been on a shopping trip, even as literally hundreds of the city's residents joined in. Along the city walls where a large group of the drones had appeared, Tyrion Viné morphed himself into a massive giant and began crushing them barehanded, completely ignoring their feeble beam attacks, while his father massed his troops and rushed into the city to offer help there.

In Mammon's palace, where the bulk of the invaders had materialized they were met with the skilled defense of its many defenders. Palace guards under the command of Atlan Furfur and Hansel Leraje, all determined to prevent a repeat of the last invasion of the palace, fought viciously and quickly overwhelmed the drones. They were helped in this by the firepower of Jackie and Clyde who worked as a very effective heavy weapons team, supporting the guards as they took down one group of drones after another. From the castle's underground labs, a horde of twisted undead abominations surged forth much to the shock of D.O.M.E. as Tohru unleashed her pets. Viola Marchosias meanwhile was tearing into the attackers as if possessed, screaming all the while about how they'd hurt her wife even as a visibly weakened Ellen followed in her devastating wake, picking off any enemy her wife missed.

Despite this though, D.O.M.E.'s multi pronged attack had accomplished its goal. It had pinned down the city's various defenders in locations all across the metropolis and allowed it the window of opportunity it needed to reach its real goal: The Primal Void

* * *

"That was our teleportation blocking wards." Devi noted with some shock.

She and the others spun around though when they felt the magical surge of an inbound teleportation directly behind them. As the light of the spell faded, the quartet found themselves facing eight of D.O.M.E.'s combat drones. Seven looked like humanoids armed with what looked like machine guns and axes in vaguely knight-like armor, with what would have been a slit in such armor instead being a track for a disturbingly human-like eye. They were led by what must have been a command model, a humanoid with elaborate crimson armor with large thrusters mounted in a wing-like arrangement on its back and sporting multiple vernier thrusters throughout its frame and with the same human-like eye in a track that ran along its 'face'. It was armed with a rifle looking weapon and an axe.

"Take cov-"

Devi never finished her order, as she was summarily cut off by the command drone casting a spell in a utterly serious voice, "[Primal Petrification]!"

The moment the last syllable of the spell was spoken, Devi instantly froze.

"Devi!" Bonnie cried even as Xiaoyu tackled her into the cover of a stone flower box even as the drones all opened fire on them.

"Hahahahaha! The mighty Primal Void, felled by a single spell!" The drones jeered even as they continued raining beams of energy at the Devils.

"What have you done to Devi!?" Bonnie demanded as she propped [Rapid Death Dealer] over the top of her cover and unleashed a storm of return fire at the drones. The drones weathered the barrage, taking substantial but largely cosmetic damage, returning fire all the while. The flower box that Xiaoyu and Bonnie were taking cover behind was almost completely destroyed when suddenly a series of elemental attacks hit the drones from the side, destroying one of the green ones and giving the two enough of an opening to make a dash for new cover behind a sturdier blast shield used to offer shelter to observers when someone wanted to practice a powerful attack.

Seemingly unperturbed by the lost of one of the drones, the enemy simply redirected some of its fire at Binh, the source of the elemental attacks, who had been hiding behind a blast shield of her own, while still keeping up the fire on Bonnie and Xiaoyu. At the same time, a number of smaller drones, similar to those used by the Iwakura twins shot out of folds in the command unit's armor and began maneuvering around the girls' cover.

While all this was happening, the enemy somehow still managed to find the time to answer Bonnie's question tauntingly, with a clearly different, more cheeky voice. "I petrified her of course! With a spell I specially designed for my fellow Primal."

_He's a Primal too!?_ Bonnie all but shouted across the Peerage's telepathic network, sparking panic as everyone abruptly became aware of the situation in the training yard. The American shoved the hysterical questions sent her way out of her mind, idly noting that Xiaoyu were answering them for her, even as she peeped her gun out of cover for a moment and in a quick burst shot all of the smaller drones out of the air and dealt enough damage to one of the green human sized ones to cause it to explode. She would have done more but her successful attack quickly focused all the enemy fire on her position and she had to duck back to avoid getting hit as the concentrated fire chipped away at the edge of the blast shield.

"Oh you lot really are fighting hard! My drones are dropping like flies, you three even managed to take out my funnels and two of my Heavy Infantry types-" Suddenly a spike of earth erupted from beneath one of the green drones and impaled it, disabling it, and causing the others to scatter as other spires of earth shot up around it. "Make that three of them. But it's all useless! With Void out of the picture, I've won here today already! Too bad, none of you can give her a true love's kiss to free her! Hahaha!"

Even as the deranged voice of the enemy laughed gloatingly, Bonnie's mind raced. _True love's kiss? Is this some kind of fairy tale?_

The laughing abruptly cut off, and the voice coming from the drones' changed to a motherly feminine tone. "No. 7, shut up! Don't tell them the spell's weakness!"

_You're shitting me, he was being honest?_ Bonnie thought even as she popped out of cover as the drones suddenly froze after saying that and released a full burst, taking down another of the green drones while Binh launched an impressive fireball to take out another. Xiaoyu charged at the command unit, her Sacred Gear enhanced kick allowing her to completely remove the arm holding its rifle. This seemed to snap the enemy Primal out of its stupor though as the drone promptly drew its axe and slashed at her, which she barely evaded and forcing her to flee back into cover, as the two remaining green drones opened fire once more. Though she made it a point to stomp on the rifle as she did so, destroying it.

_Is it me or is their rate of fire increasing?_ Binh observed as she and Bonnie both jumped back behind the protection of the blast shields, joined shortly after by Xiaoyu.

_It isn't just you._ The twins confirmed. _The more drones you destroy, the stronger the remaining ones become individually. The Primal must be redirecting its power into them or some such._

_Damn! At this rate, we won't be able to get close again._ Xiaoyu noted with a wince as she took in the grazes she'd received courtesy of the enemy from their last exchange.

_Here!_ Bonnie said as she passed Xiaoyu a bottle of Phoenix Tears. The Knight nodded gratefully and took a small sip, just enough to heal her wounds.

"Damn it! No. 7, No. 2, now they know the spell's weakness." A tired sounding voice came from the drones, even as they kept up their unrelenting barrage which was by now having a noticeable effect on the blast shields as they wrapped under the sustained fire.

"Oh come off it, No. 3! It doesn't matter anyways! She'd a polygamist isn't she? There's no way someone like that even knows what true love is." The enemy's No. 7 voice shot back.

The members of Devi's harem all bristled at the Primal's words, and Bonnie felt the same fury. _Well, I'll just prove you crazies otherwise, won't I! Binh, Xiaoyu, I have a plan!_

Both Knights sent her a burst of desperate curiosity, even as they eyed their cover slowly deforming as they showed signs of being well on their way to failing. Bonnie sent them what she had in mind.

_That's crazy!_ Xiaoyu noted.

_It's also our best bet, these shields won't hold out much longer._ Binh countered. _Unless you have a better plan?_

_I know. Doesn't mean it's any less crazy._ Xiaoyu resignedly observed. _Let's do it!_

_Thank you, both!_ Bonnie said sincerely. _On my mark. Three!_

Binh fell into a sprinter's stance, clutching a talisman in each hand.

_Two!_

Xiaoyu readied herself to perform a high jump.

_One!_

The blast shields glowed bright red and began to melt.

_Go!_

Xiaoyu leapt over their cover and landed right on top of one of the Heavy Infantry drones, smashing it and slamming it into the Command type as it came in to take a swing at her with its axe whose edge had been encased in energy. The move sent the Command type stumbling back and distracted the remaining Heavy Infantry drone as it moved to redirect its fire onto the Chinese girl. This gave Binh the perfect opening to sprint forward to slam both her talismans onto the side of the Command type, before both girls leapt away. Just in time, as a moment later, the drone was engulfed in a large explosion that reduced it to scrap.

The last drone was thrown back by the blast and showered by debris but with a burst of its thrusters remained upright and quickly opened fire at the Knights. The fire was so intense that the two girls, despite their enhanced speed, were barely able to keep up, quickly accumulating a host of wounds. But they didn't head for cover though, they needed to keep the enemy's attention on them and not Bonnie.

The moment the Command type exploded, Bonnie shot out of cover. She'd have run sooner, but Binh had pointed out that this was safer, since if their surprise move worked, there would only be one drone left by that point and they could capture its entire attention thus leaving her unmolested as she finished her part of the mission.

_I'm not letting them get shot at without helping though!_ Bonnie decided, as she ran out from behind the blast shield, [Rapid Death Dealer] drawn. She fired at the drone blindly while running towards Devi.

Despite her lack of aim, Bonnie managed to fire so many shots in her short burst that dozens hit the drone. It however weathered the shots easily, having been increasingly empowered by D.O.M.E as its other drones were destroyed and it shifted its focus towards it. It smoothly shifted fire towards her, letting up its barrage on the Knights.

_Bonnie!_ The Knights cried worriedly, even as she the enemy fire flying her way. Bonnie ignored them, instead focusing on running - _How can a short distance suddenly seem so long!? -_ and intercepting the enemy shots with her own.

She managed to shoot down a good number of them, but one slipped through her guard clipping her in her side just as she crashed into the petrified Devi. The collision sent the two of them tumbling to the ground, and jolted Bonnie's new wound terribly. But she ignored it. Not letting up on her intercepting fire, it was the only thing keeping her alive, she crawled up Devi's body.

The drone's fire slackened somewhat and she guessed that the Knights must have engaged the drone to distract it, but it was still firing on her. It was clearly determined to stop her.

As Bonnie made it to Devi's face, she gave the sloppiest kiss of her life. Worse than her first inexperienced kiss all those years ago with Clyde. It was even worse than the kisses she gave when she was smashed. It was most definitely not the kind of kiss she'd ever want to share with Devi, but right now that didn't matter. Not when this kiss could prove her love for her was true!

Distracted by her romantic musings, Bonnie's interceptor fire ebbed and a single bolt of energy aimed for her head slipped through. The shot should have killed her, but at the last minute was swatted aside as Devi reached up to grab hold of Bonnie's head and pull her up into a proper kiss. Bonnie was too stunned that her kiss had dispelled the petrification and what that meant, and the just as important fact that Devi was kissing her back to even notice.

She was also far too preoccupied to notice as a stretch of Devi's shadow suddenly deformed and shaped itself into a spear and impaled the final drone before sprouting a collection of spikes that tore the machine apart, destroying it.

Bonnie only came back to her senses when Devi gently pulled back from the kiss. The two women looked into each other's eyes for a long moment as they parted, before Devi pecked Bonnie on the lips once more.

"We'll discuss things between us later, ok?" Devi said lovingly, caressing Bonnie's face. The American nodded, a happy smile on her face.

Devi made to stand, Bonnie moving aside to allow her to do so, wincing as she did from the wound to her side. Devi was about to heal her when a bottle came flying their way, catching it she saw it was a vial of Phoenix Tears.

"It's Bonnie's. She lent it to me earlier." Xiaoyu said by way of explanation as Devi turned to them questioningly. Both Knights seemed to be fine, a little exhausted but not wounded as their clothes seemed to suggest they should be. Considering the half-filled vial of Tears, they must have used some on themselves already.

Devi nodded and handed the vial to Bonnie who shot her and the Knights a grateful smile.

It was just as Bonnie was swallowing the healing liquid that reinforcements finally arrived. Hansel, Attie, Lulu and the rest of her Peerage poured into the training yard along with hundreds of troops.

"Devi!" Ravel and her other lovers cried as they rushed to embrace her. Bonnie looked on, the usual twinge of jealousy she usually felt at such scenes strangely dulled.

_Maybe it's because I'll be one of them soon._ The American thought to herself hopefully, even as Jackie and Clyde rushed to her side. Her childhood friends fretting about her well-being.

Bonnie reassured them that she was fine. Nothing a little Phoenix Tears couldn't fix. She likewise offered similar assurances to everyone else who asked.

But her attention wasn't on them, it was on Devi as she arranged for security to be tightened, for someone to find Ellen and help her repair the wards and a whole host of other things in the wake of the attack. She stood there transfixed as the woman she truly loved - _And wasn't that grand? Knowing, objectively, that my love for her is true?_ \- commanded her people in a time of crisis.

She waited patiently for Devi to be done and for her to turn her.

"Let's go talk Bonnie," Devi said at last as she offered her arm.

Gladly taking it, Bonnie walked arm in arm with her King for what she hoped was the first of many times to come.

* * *

It was a day after the enemy Primal's attack and Devi was holding a debriefing in her study. Her whole Court was in attendance, as was her Peerage.

"First off, anyone knows who the attacker was? I could tell he was the Primal Life, Shepherd of the Living, but not his name. Any clues?"

"Not definitively. Not yet. But I think I might have a clue." Attie offered her liege. "The drones all had a great deal of variation between the four identified types, but there was one point of consistency between all of them. That human-like eye of theirs."

There were affirming motions all around, as everyone concurred on that point.

"I've done some digging and have come across a possible match for use of that design element. A rogue AI originally built by the CIA known as Depths Of Minds Elevating or D.O.M.E. for short."

"Can an AI be a Primal?" Lulu asked skeptically.

"The only limits on what a Primal may incarnate as is its relative closeness to the others and even that is fairly broad seeing as anything within a given planet and associated planes is considered acceptable. So yes, it's possible." Devi explained.

"That's ridiculously broad!" Tyrion decried.

"I think that's the entire point." Devi replied with a shrug. Tactfully not mentioning that the True Primals took quite a bit of fun out of choosing the oddest combination of beings to incarnate their local avatars as. She doubted the others would appreciate how their world was being put at risk by a bunch of interdimensional supergods acting on their whims.

"Moving on," Devi said to get things back on track. "Ellen, how did Life get past our wards?"

An uncharacteristically withdrawn Ellen, replied, "He brute forced his way through them."

"The backlash hurt so bad, it had Ellen screaming in agony!" Viola interjected furiously, even as she hugged her wife comfortingly.

Devi winced, the backlash must have been insanely intense to make Ellen respond like that. The woman was quite the masochist after all, though she was admittedly primarily a sadist, as she often allowed her wife to reverse their roles in their sadomasochist games and got quite the thrill from it as well. - _And I really wish I didn't know any of that!_ \- Thus to have actually ended "screaming in agony", the pain from the backlash of her wards shattering must have been incredible.

"I'm sorry Lady Mammon," Ellen said as she bowed her head apologetically. "It's my fault that we've been invaded twice in such a short space of time."

"It wasn't your fault either time, Ellen." Devi reassured. "Rizevim managed to get through because he had help from the inside," Tyrion shifted uneasily at this. "And this time you were outmatched. You were after all up against a Primal."

Ellen shifted uneasily in her wheelchair, that for once in a long time she actually needed, looking unconvinced but nevertheless nodded.

Devi sighed internally, for now this was the best she could do.

_Knowing her though. This is probably enough. She'll just take this as a challenge and up her game and come up with even more terrifying wards in response._

Satisfied, on that front for now, Devi moved on, "Hansel, Tywin, how tough were the drones? How do they compare with our men? Everyone do feel free to chip in."

The two generals exchanged looks before Tywin gestured to Hansel to speak.

"They weren't much trouble at first."

Everyone made agreeing motions or noises.

"I agree. I managed to incinerate a dozen of the basic infantry models early on." Lulu chimed in.

"Yeah, those things were pretty fragile in the beginning." Attie added. "I could literally tear them apart with some simple magnetism. But they got tougher as we mopped them up."

"Indeed." Hansel said taking control of the discussion once more. "As the twins theorized and Tohru's analysis of their remains confirmed," The aforementioned parties nodded at the mention of their names. "The Primal seems to be able to redistribute its power from destroyed drones to still operable ones, somehow enhancing them in the process."

"It made the last few tough bastards." Jackie noted. "One, a basic infantry type, took a direct hit from Clyde's [Black Maw Cannon] and shrugged it off. And earlier Clyde was blowing them up in the twos and threes."

Clyde nodded, confirming Jackie's story.

"How dangerous are they at full potential power then?"

"Not sure. We're still modeling the possibilities based on what data we have." Tohru explained. "But if what happened yesterday was any indication, the drones become tough but not unbeatable."

"Agreed. Even at their strongest the drones were still manageable foes." Hansel reported.

"Casualties?"

"Minimal. A few deaths, sadly, especially among the civilians and off-duty personnel that joined the fight. They lacked the equipment to withstand the drones' firepower once they started powering up."

Devi frowned. She never liked hearing about deaths among her people.

"Have the appropriate reparations been offered to the victims' families?"

"Of course, Devi." Lulu replied easily.

That was, as sad as it was, the best that Devi could do for them.

_At least their lives weren't lost entirely in vain. Yesterday's engagement proves that our armies are an effective counter against this Primal's drones._

"Good. Then Hansel, Tywin, I want both of you to prepare our forces to be able to react better if such an attack happens again. And also to prepare them for action at a moment's notice. If we ever get the chance to repay Life for yesterday I want to act on it."

"We'll have plans for your perusal shortly, My Satan." Tywin said after sharing a look with Hansel.

"Very well. Is there anything else that's pressing?"

Tohru raised her hand, a intrigued gleam in her eye. "I have a question, but it's not urgent though."

Devi just nodded her head encouragingly, signaling the ghost to go ahead with her question.

"Thanks, Devi-sama. I was just wondering about how that Primal managed to petrify you in the first place. I mean, I thought you'd just fight the spell off."

"I probably would have, eventually." Devi acknowledged. "Unless Life regularly renewed the spell, I would've broken it. But that could have taken quite a while. Days, months, years? I honestly couldn't say. But considering how confident he was in the spell, I'd say it would have been long enough to take me out of the equation during the Primal War."

"That explains why he used it. But why include a weakness?" Clyde asked, as she crossed her arms looking affronted at the very idea.

"It didn't have a choice, Clyde." Tohru explained in a classic lecturing pose with an arm crossed over her chest and the other gesturing as she spoke. "The more powerful binding spells, like that spell surely was, all have some built-in weakness like that. The fact that leaving a single exploitable weakness strengthens binding spells is one of the quirks of that type of magic."

Clyde nodded apparently satisfied.

"Any more questions?" Devi asked the crowd after a few minutes of silence.

No one replied.

"Then this meeting is adjourned."

The various attendees filed out, Bonnie making a point to leave last and blow Devi a kiss before leaving. The Satan just shook her head in amusement at her latest lover's antics.

* * *

"-and that's my report on the Primal Life's invasion of [Spiral Urbis Opes]." Devi said ending off her lengthy report to the other leaders of the growing alliance, now formally including the Greeks and Hindu pantheons too. Representing the devils were Sirzechs, Serafall and herself; Shemhazai, the new Governor General of the Grigori represented the Fallen; Michael was the Angel's representative as usual; while Odin, Zeus, and Indra represented the Norse, Greek and Hindu pantheons respectively.

Shortly, after the invasion, the other leaders had demanded that a conference be held to discuss it. For once, Devi wholeheartedly agreed. Despite her general distaste for such functions, she knew she needed help in the Primal War and building rapport with the alliance ensured they would support her in it. More immediately, she hoped they had more information on Primal Life. While Attie had been able to confirm that the humanoid eye was a distinctive feature employed by D.O.M.E., there was no confirmation that it was indeed the Primal Life.

The leaders mulled over Devi's report for a long moment before Zeus spoke up.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news for you Devora." The King of the Greek gods in the guise of an elderly man with a well-built body and dressed in a toga replied.

"What have you discovered?" Devi inquired curiously. The Greeks had gone to investigate the point of origin for the Primal Life's attack force that Tohru had been able to work out. The Satan was thus very curious about what they'd found.

"We can confirm that the Primal Life is D.O.M.E." Zeus informed. "The demigods who explored his base were able to get him to admit that much. However, he got away."

Devi frowned, it sounded like the Greeks had engaged D.O.M.E.

"That was extremely reckless of your heroes, Zeus." Michael chimed in. "Confronting a potential Primal? After seeing what they can do?"

Devi blushed at that, the leader of the Angels was referring to her unplanned bout with Great Red. She hadn't known it at the time, but apparently the fight had at some point got violent enough that they'd torn holes in reality that had led to people across worlds catching glimpses of the fight.

"I agree. I scolded the fools for it." Zeus replied to his fellow faction leader. "It was sheer luck that D.O.M.E. was too busy packing up shop to pay too much attention. That and they had the sense to run after he spotted them."

"He's shifted his base of operations then?" Sirzechs asked with a frown. Devi could commiserate. She'd been hoping that they'd be able to pin it down and launch a retaliatory attack.

"Unfortunately, yes." Zeus confirmed.

"Well, it's not that big a deal." Azazel, who for some reason had resigned as Governor General of the Grigori but still had a seat at the conference, joined the conversation. "I mean with those telepathic twins and the Sephiroth Graal in Devi's Peerage, it'll be a cinch to track him down."

"As if, Azazel." Devi said with an annoyed sigh. If that were the case, she wouldn't have asked for the alliance's help in the first place.

"Oh come on, Devi! Combined those three give you the greatest information gathering ability in the world. Add in Altan Furfur and you're unbeatable on that front."

"Even then we have limits. Or have you forgotten the wards that limit the twins? Add to that the fact that while Val can talk to the dead she can't command them, which makes anything they say suspect at best. And that's not even taking into consideration that D.O.M.E. is a Primal. We can shield our presence from each other, what more people with weaker powers?"

"Oh right! Sorry." Azazel said sheepishly.

"You'd do well to remember your place, Azazel." Indra, King of the Hindu gods reminded. He wore the guise of an Indian man with a buzz-cut hairstyle, wearing circular sunglasses, an aloha shirt, and a jewel around his neck. "Devora, would not have come asking for our aid in this matter if she could settle it on her own. Beings of great power such as ourselves do not accept, much less request, the aid of others lightly."

Devi privately thought the Indian god was full of himself to place himself in the same category as a Primal, but for the sake of the alliance made no sign of it. Not all of the other leaders were as controlled however, as Odin and Zeus both shot the other god annoyed looks.

"On the matter of powerful beings," Serafall cut in, obviously trying to defuse the rising tensions with a change of topic. "Devi has something to report about the Primal War as well."

At the mention of the War, all the leaders immediately turned their attention to Devi.

_Good to see they understand its importance._ Devi thought, as she began her report. "I do. I recently had a talk with Great Red." Several of the leaders gave various signs of amusement at this, obviously thinking that she was referring to their 'spar'. Devi just ignored them and continued with her report. "And Ophis, both of whom are also Primals. They informed me, and Attie's intelligence reports confirm, that Rizevim is working to set off the War in earnest by freeing the last two Primals who have been sealed."

"Is that man mad?" Zeus asked incredulously.

"Yes." The Devils present all confirmed.

"Mad men are always the most dangerous." Shemhazai said resignedly with a shake of his head. He would know having worked alongside Kokabiel, one such madman for years.

Devi nodded, and continued her report, "Once the two are released, all of us will be active at the same time. At that point, it's only a matter of time before our natures will draw us into conflict."

"How is Rizevim trying to unseal the Primals, Devi?" Sirzechs asked, looking determined to do whatever he could to oppose the Lucifer.

"I'm uncertain." Devi admitted. "Though he has been collecting artifacts with lingering traces of a Primal's energies and I think he intends to use them somehow."

"So we just need to prevent him from getting more of those?"

"Preferably, Indra." Devi agreed. "Though I honestly don't know how that'll help. He has already amassed a lot of artifacts. Mayhaps he already has enough. I know for a fact that he has access to Ophis' and Great Red's power. To make things even more difficult, I can't be sure who the sealed Primals are and so can't be sure on a full list of what we might need to protect."

"That is indeed troubling," Odin admitted as he stroked his beard. "But based on what we know, all we can do is secure any powerful artifacts or sources of power we have in our possession just in case they are what he's looking for."

The other leaders nodded. It was hardly ideal, but it was the best they could manage based on what they knew.

"I must ask however, how is it that this Rizevim even knows about the Primals." Zeus questioned. "I mean before Devora mentioned it, I had never heard about them at all."

"The others were quite happy to bide their time and not announce their nature." Devi said with a shrug, unwilling to admit that she been unable to figure Ophis' hint on who had set this up. In hindsight, Devi had realized that the "box" Ophis had mentioned must have been the Primals' seal or something that could lead to it and thus the "caveman" must have been the person to have set things in motion. However, for the life of her, the Super Devil could not figure out what her fellow Primal had meant.

"Still-"

Zeus was cut off when Indra supplied his own answer, "He is part of the Chaos Brigade, no? An organization who has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to infiltrate even your highest echelons? Is it even a surprise he'd learn our secrets considering that?"

"We've purged many of the Brigade's agents already. But there unfortunately always seems to be more." Sirzechs admitted, even as Serafall and Odin nodded.

"Which is why we're compartmentalizing our operations even more than ever before." Serafall explained. "Starting with this new team, DxD, to act as our rapid reaction force against further Brigade aggression."

Devi frowned at the very mention of the force. While she was not opposed to the basic concept, she was leery of some of its members. Particularly as some of said members were former enemies like Cao Cao, now apparently serving under and being vouched for by Indra, and Vali Lucifer and his team, who Odin had even went so far as to adopt the leader of to clear them of their crimes. She was especially angry in regards to the latter because of what happened with Fenrir.

However, Devi was pragmatic enough to accept the necessity of adding their power and skills to the alliance. That and she also acknowledged that from a certain perspective as a Old Satan that joined the new regime, she was in a very similar situation.

That said, she'd still demand a reckoning for Fenrir's fate when the war was over. Michael and her were both agreed on this point.

"And what of our other forces?" Odin asked. "As powerful as this team is, I doubt they'd be able to stand up against the full might of the Chaos Brigade much less a Primal."

"They aren't designed to." Sirzechs explained. "They are merely our vanguard. The rest of our forces are being mobilized and restructured for rapid deployment as well. We're still in the planning phases for that however and so have not shared the details yet."

"I'll forward the details once we have at least a basic outline of what we have in mind." Serafall announced.

The other leaders looked satisfied with this.

"Well then, I believe that's all the urgent matters we have to discuss?"

When no one raised an objection to this conclusion, Sirzechs continued, "Then I believe it's time to formally establish DxD."

* * *

The ceremony to commemorate the formation of the new team was a gaudy affair that Val tuned out, just like Devi and the rest of her Peerage, all of whom had been forced to attend. Well, officially only Devi and Ravel as Devi's wife was required to do so, but no one felt it fair to allow the two of them to suffer through it alone so they'd all volunteered to come along.

_And now we're all bored out of our minds!_ Bonnie noted irritably as they watched Indra, the arrogant prick, give a long and boring speech.

_At least it's almost over._ Devi sent reassuringly. _He's the last speaker and after him, we can all leave._

_Azazel's not going to speak? Isn't he the de facto leader of the team?_ The twins noted. Of course, everyone knew that officially the team's leader was the reincarnated angel and exorcist, Dulio Gesualdo, possessor of the Longinus Zenith Tempest. But nobody in Devi's Peerage was fooled by that, if anyone were the leaders of the group it was Indra's former vanguard Sun Wukong and Azazel. Considering the Buddha was a known loner and not much of a leader, that meant that the real source of leadership in the group would come from the former Governor General of the Grigori.

_Not likely. If for no other reason than to keep up appearances._ Clyde reasoned.

_You'd be correct there, Clyde._ Devi confirmed, even as Indra finished speaking and Sirzechs moved to the vacated podium to say a few last words in dismissal.

_Hmm… Looks like the formal ceremony is over! We can finally go!_ Xiaoyu cheered.

_Sorry to burst your bubble, Xiaoyu, but I would like to speak to a few people before we go._ Devi sent back, even as Val's heartbeat raced as she thought about what Devi had planned. When she'd heard about this ceremony, and more importantly who might be attending it, she'd asked Devi for a favor. One that her lover had easily agreed to. She just hoped that what she hoped for panned out.

_Aw!_ Xiaoyu whined even as she and the rest of the Peerage dutifully followed their King as she made her way through the crowds.

To Val's disappointment, the person that Devi sought out first was Vali Lucifer.

_Apologies, Val. But I had to catch him before he left. We'll talk to Gremory next._ Devi sent to Val apologetically.

Val sent her an understanding burst of thought back, even as she listened in on the conversation. She knew Devi disliked the boy but also didn't want to hurt him for the sake of the alliance. As such she'd need to rein herself in when dealing with him today. To that end, Val was going to help her by being an extra set of eyes and ears to keep that annoyance from boiling over into violence.

"Lucifer," Devi greeted the boy coldly.

"Mammon," the hybrid shot back just as coolly, even as his team tensed. Val herself began fingering one of the vials of Devi's blood she had secreted away on her person, ready to draw it and drink it down for the power up she'd need for a fight with the boy's team if things came to that. Beside her, she sensed the rest of the Peerage likewise ready for a potential fight.

"I have something for Albion." Devi said getting right to the point, clearly not willing to offer any pleasantries.

"What is it?"

Devi produced a tetrahedron shaped diamond and tossed it to the boy who caught it easily.

"It's an add-on to his Divine Dividing, just like the [Resurrection Scale] I gave Ddraig. It's a spear called [Subtle Executioner], made from one of Albion's feather just like the [Scale] was made from one of Ddraig's scales. It's a Longinus class offensive weapon that delivers a dose of the deadly poison I developed, [Void Anathema], with every contact."

One of Lucifer's teammates, the magician Le Fay Pendragon gasped at that, causing her leader to look at her questioningly. She quickly explained her reaction, "Vali, that's the most powerful poison in the world, bar none. Alone its toxicity is as deadly as a Longinus. It's what her troops used to kill [Annihilation Maker]'s monster during the recent invasion."

The hybrid's eyes widened at that, which caused a satisfied smile to spread across Devi's face. She always did enjoy it when people appreciated her work.

"Don't worry about poisoning yourself. I've included a special sheathe with the spear that'll make it safe to handle. It even has seven doses of the counteragent preloaded. Jab someone with the dose and they'll be immune to the poison's effects."

"Just seven?" The magician's brother, Arthur, said. "That's quite specific. Just enough for everyone on our team, I see."

"What can I say? I don't trust you much." Devi admitted.

Lucifer shot her a glare. "Then keep your fancy spear. I won't need it."

Devi returned the glare full force. "[Subtle Executioner] is for Albion, boy. Take it and channel your power into it the next time you use Divine Dividing and it'll be assimilated into the Sacred Gear. After that, I don't care if you ever use it."

The boy looked ready to refuse but stilled, in the way people inexperienced with telepathy did when they talked to people in their own minds.

"Fine! I'll take it for Albion." He said sounding petulant. "But I'm never using it."

With that, he turned and prepared to stalk off, but Devi stopped him, "Before you go, just let me remind you of one thing. I have more of the counteragent."

"Don't worry about me using it against you, Mammon." Lucifer shot back dismissively as he stalked off, his team following in his wake. "I'm never using your little trinket."

As the boy disappeared from sight, Bonnie sent a confused message to Devi, _Err… Devi, I'm confused. Why did you even give something that powerful to the boy? Don't you hate him?_

_I do! The boy is too much like his grandfather for my tastes._ Devi admitted. _But Albion is my friend, and in respect to his rivalry with Ddraig it was only appropriate I gave him something to make up for giving the [Scale] to the Hyoudou boy._

_I can understand that, Devi._ Xiaoyu commented. _But isn't it a waste to give something that valuable to someone who will never use it?_

_The boy won't be the White Dragon Emperor forever._ Binh explained ominously.

_Enough of talking about the boy, let's go find the next person Devi needs to talk to. I'd like to head as soon as possible._ Jackie shot irritably, which was understandable since she was currently on her period and would likely much rather be at home relaxing in bed.

_Agreed. Anyone seen where Rias Gremory is?_

Everyone quickly scanned the crowd of guests.

_Over there!_ Ravel announced a moment later, gesturing to the far side of the hall.

Val felt her heart speed up at that, as her nerves caught up to her again. Devi walked up to her and took her arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze as arm in arm they walked over to meet Gremory.

As she did she saw an androgynous looking boy by the high-class devil's side looking at her seeming as nervous as she felt.

_Gasper._ Val murmured the boy's name in her mind. The boy had featured prominently in her mind recently as fragments of memory about her past life that revolved around him floated into her consciousness. She'd had flashes of memory about him from the earliest times since her reincarnation as a Devil, but only since the battle with the Primal Life when she'd drank Devi's blood for the first time had she been able to remember anything meaningful about him.

What she'd learned had unsettled her.

"Greetings, Rias Gremory. And to your Peerage as well, especially you Red Dragon Emperor." Devi greeted kindly.

"Greetings, Satan Mammon." The Gremory returned with an accompanying curtsy, her Peerage following suit with varying degrees of formality.

Val didn't pay them any mind, instead she kept her eyes firmly on Gremory, desperate to keep her eyes from wandering over to her fellow former Dhampir.

"No need for pleasantries, Rias." Devi assured the girl, before turning to the Hyoudou boy. "I'm actually here to ask the Red Dragon Emperor a few things."

"Yes!?" The boy replied, stiffening in the wake of being put on the spot.

Devi looked to the boy's King for permission as was proper, and upon receiving her nod, proceeded to ask the boy, "Tell me Hyoudou, how does it feel to be resurrected from death?"

The boy shifted a bit uneasily at the reminder of his recent death, but to his credit calmed quickly.

"I can't really say, being dead during the experience and all." The boy replied sheepishly.

Val frowned, the boy was lying. At least she thought so, her Sacred Gear allowed her to talk to the dead after all and she knew from conversing with them that the dead could experience the world just as well as the living.

Devi knew this too, but she seemed willing to let the matter rest.

"Is that so? Well, unless you'd like to get a chance to experience being dead again, I'd advise you to be less reckless in the future. After all, just because two Primals have a soft spot for you doesn't mean you're always going to be resurrected."

"I know that." The boy replied surprisingly seriously, before he suddenly adopted a confused expression. "Though isn't it three Primals? I mean didn't you give me the [Scale]? It helped a great deal. Shalba Beelzebub had to kill me _twice_ because of it."

Devi grew agitated at what the boy's said, though she doubted anyone outside of the Peerage noticed. The only sign she gave was the surge of embarrassment she inadvertently broadcasted across their telepathic network and the slight tightening of her hold on Val's arm.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Devi deflected. "I only gave you the [Scale] because I was returning it to Ddraig and because I wanted to see if it would work. I don't have a soft spot for you."

"She's lying." Ravel cut in immediately after Devi finished. "She likes you quite a bit. Considers you quite the hero too."

Val and the rest of Devi's Peerage gave various agreeing signs. It was after all the truth, Devi had on more than one occasion been quite vocal about the boy's various accomplishments.

The boy and the rest of the Gremory Peerage and their associate seemed quite pleased with this, even as Devi blushed prettily.

"Traitors. The lot of you are all traitors." Devi whined.

Ravel broke into laughter at Devi's rare display of childish pique, and was soon joined by the rest of the Mammon Peerage.

Even as she giggled at her love's expense though she squeezed her arm, still entwined with her own, lightly as a sign they were just teasing. Devi could be quite hypersensitive to teasing at times, especially in public and it was always best to let her know that they meant no harm.

Involuntarily, Val noticed Gasper frown at her squeezing Devi's arm and her good humor vanished. In its wake, was a rush of confused emotions. Too confusing for the Rook to make sense of.

Sensing her distress, Devi set aside her embarrassment and spoke up.

"Enough of laughing at my expense." The Primal said seriously, causing everyone to calm in response to her tone. "Rias, there is one more thing I would like to talk to you about."

"Yes, My Satan?"

Devi frowned a little at the girl's continued formality. Val knew she hated it when people turned down or as in this case refused to even acknowledge her attempts to make things more informal. Her love had confessed that it made her feel like these people saw her as nothing more than her titles, and didn't see her as a person.

Despite her annoyance, Devi nevertheless pressed forward.

"I would like to extend to you the offer for you and your Peerage, and associate as well, to visit [Spiral Urbis Opes] and receive some special training from me."

The girl seemed suitably impressed by the offer. It was after all not everyday that a Satan offered special training to anyone. Though Val knew that the girl had received such from her brother, Sirzechs Lucifer, before. So perhaps her expression was a mask, Val honestly couldn't tell.

"By associates, you mean Irina?" Gremory inquired while gesturing to the reincarnated angel.

Devi just nodded.

Gremory turned to her Peerage and the lone reincarnated angel as if canvassing their opinions. They all nodded immediately, except Gasper who hesitated and only nodded after a deep breathe and a long look at Val that she resolutely avoided.

Turning back to Devi, Gremory announced her decision, "We accept."

"Very good." Devi replied sounding pleased. "See you in a week."

Without waiting for any reply, Devi turned away and with Val still on her arm marched to the nearest teleportation point. The rest of her Peerage following behind her.

"Everything will be fine, Val." Devi reassured as she summoned the magic circle to take them home.

_I hope so._

* * *

**AN:**

**Ok, first thing first. I'll be changing releases to the weekend. It's just more convenient for me.  
**

**On to the chapter itself. This chapter was mainly D.O.M.E.'s invasion of [** **Spiral Urbis Opes] and its aftermath, along with some set up for the next chapter. Hopefully the whole thing wasn't too shabby.**

**About the low casualties from D.O.M.E.'s attack. Keep in mind, it only sent 100 units. The whole attack was only a distraction to give him the chance to petrify Devi. That's the only reason for the low, but non zero, kill count. Also keep in mind, that low casualties is relative to a city of many thousands. The way I see it, a militarized culture like the Land of Greed isn't going to take a few 'civilian' deaths as harshly as ours does when terrorists kill a handful of people so the descriptor of "minimal" can readily apply to a larger number of people than you'd think.**

**The alliance is another thing worth talking about. In this case, the Greek and Hindu pantheons are much more deeply tied to the Three Factions and Norse than canon. Why? Because of Devi's rather dramatic Awakening. It scared them into tying themselves more openly with the preexisting alliance. That and her talk of the upcoming Primal War. They want to choose a side they know and if not trust then can predict for that war.**

**Val was something of a wreck in the last scene wasn't she? Well considering what her most recently recovered memories have revealed to her, it's pretty understandable. I think I made what they revealed to her quite obvious, but for the handful who might not have caught it I'll refrain from spoiling you. Just know that it's a doozy and very nicely explains why Val was so distracted (she didn't catch any of the telepathic communication within the Mammon Peerage that was definitely happening when Devi was talking to Rias) and so hypersensitive to Devi and Gasper.**

**And lastly here are the inspirations for D.O.M.E.'s drones that made a meaningful appearance:**

**Heavy Infantry Type: AMS-119 Geara Doga from Gundam Unicorn**

**Command Type: MSN-06S Sinanju from Gundam Unicorn**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	11. Steps towards to the end

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Steps towards to the end**

The Iwakura twins watched the arrival of the Gremory group for the special training that Devi had arranged with some trepidation. It wasn't because they were worried about them being a threat, well not in a violent sense anyway. Despite the group's rapid and unpredictable growth in strength, the twins were certain that in a fight Devi alone would destroy them. Not that it was likely to come to a fight, Rias Gremory had more sense than that.

No, what had them feeling so anxious was the emotional turmoil their presence - or one of their members specifically - was causing within the Mammon Peerage. For days now, Val had been a wreck. She had been thoroughly distracted by what appeared to be certain flashbacks from her past life that revolved around the former Dhampir in Gremory's Peerage, Gasper Vladi. So much so that she'd started behaving oddly, skipping the training she had previously engaged in so religiously and been extra clingy to Devi.

Even now as they escorted the Gremory group from the teleportation point to the dining hall, for a welcome dinner, she was clinging almost desperately to Devi's arm.

_She won't choose the boy will she?_ Bonnie asked worriedly across the Peerage network, expressing the worry everyone felt. _Devi will be devastated if she does._

_Bonnie! Val can hear you!_ Ravel reprimanded.

_If only. Then she'd know what we're all so upset about. Instead she's so caught up in her own drama that she isn't even paying attention to what we're saying._ Bonnie shot back unhappily.

_Still!_

_Leave it Ravel._ The twins advised. There was no point trying to get Bonnie to stop, the other woman was worried sick and acting out. Nothing short of completely resolving the source of the worry, the situation with Val, would get her to stop.

As the dinner reception started, the Gremory group conversed freely seemingly completely unaware or more likely trying to pretend the tension didn't exist. Vladi was constantly staring at Val longingly, despite attempts by his friends to distract him by engaging him in conversation. While Val in turn was squirming in her seat trying to avoid his gaze.

The twins felt their anger start to build. The boy was obviously making Val uncomfortable. He apparently needed to be reminded what constituted proper behavior for a guest. A sentiment that they could feel was shared by the rest of the Peerage. They was about to act on it when Devi preempted them.

"Rias?"

"Yes, Lady Devora?"

"Do you know the real reason why I offered this special training for you and your friends?"

Gremory cut a quick glance towards Val and her own Bishop. "I have a good guess."

Devi caught the look, of course she did, and smiled a bittersweet smile. "And I see that you've guessed correctly. The main reason I've asked you to come was to allow Valerie the chance to spend some time with her old childhood friend, Gasper. At her request, mind you."

The twins startled at the last bit of information. _Val requested this!?_

_Yes._ Devi sent sounding resigned. _She says she wants to tie up loose ends._

The Peerage network churned with the whole group's unease, one that Xiaoyu gave voice to. _We're not the loose end, right?_

_I don't know._ Devi replied sounding lost. She might have been a mighty warrior and ruler but here and now faced with a challenge of the heart, she was floundering.

_I'm sure that's not the case._ Ravel offered comfortingly, even as her mental voice betrayed her own uncertainty.

"Then the training?" The Red Dragon Emperor said, jolting the Mammon Peerage out of their worried musings.

"Don't worry about it, Hyoudou. I'm a woman of my word." Devi assured. "I'll provide it."

"You have my thanks, Lady Devora."

Devi waved Gremory's thanks away and noting that everyone had finished with dinner, though both former Dhampir looked like they'd hardly eaten at all, she escorted their guests to their rooms.

As she and her Peerage, conspicuously missing Val, headed back to their own quarters, Devi sagged. The air of a ruler and a gracious hostess vanished and in its place was the appearance of a woman worried her lover was about to leave her.

_Devi, are you alright?_ Binh, usually as quiet as a grave, was worried enough to ask.

Their King took in a fortifying breath, before replying, _Honestly? No. I'm terrified that Val might choose that Vladi boy._

The twins joined the others in trying to reassure her, but she just shook her head. _Nothing anyone says now will comfort me about this. Only Val making her decision will._

With that she walked off, her concerned Peerage trailing behind her.

* * *

After making sure her Peerage had all retired to their rooms, Devi retreated to her own study. Lulu and Attie were waiting for her there. Both of her friends shot her worried looks as she joined them on a couch by the warmly burning hearth, a magical screen in front of them.

On it was the real-time video of Val's meeting with her old friend, Gasper Vladi.

"Devi, are you really okay with letting Valerie meet with her old flame?" Lulu asked as she shifted to make space for Devi.

"You worry too much, Lulu." Attie cut in before Devi could say anything. "Everything's going to be fine."

"You don't know that!" Lulu pointed out as Devi settled between her two friends.

Attie just shook her head, "Don't you trust Devi?"

"Of course I do! But this is-"

"Shh! The both of you." Devi said, cutting off the argument. "Let me pay attention."

On screen the two former Dhampirs were talking. Both seemed a little hesitant, which was no surprise, they had spent years apart after all. Factoring in Vladi's well known shyness and Val's fragmented memory of their past, and it was a miracle they managed to talk at all.

But talk they did, haltingly at first but slowly but surely as they grew more comfortable, more smoothly.

"Attie, why isn't there audio?" Lulu whispered, apparently trying to be quiet and not distract Devi.

"I told Attie to mute it. I wasn't going to invade Valerie and her guest's privacy more than I already am."

Lulu shot Devi an incredulous look, "Devi! How can you think of her privacy now?"

"She's my lover. Of course I'd care about her privacy."

"I think what Lulu means is that she might not be one if this turns out badly, so why care so much."

"Whatever happens in the future, hasn't happened yet. For the moment, Val is still my lover. And is due the respect that being such entails." Devi said with a sigh.

"How are you so calm about all this? She might leave you!" Lulu all but shouted.

Keeping her eyes firmly glued on the screen, Devi replied, "I have faith that that won't happen. Besides even if Val did make that choice, I'd accept it."

Lulu sputtered incoherently at that, while Attie just sighed and commented, "Now that's how true love is like."

Devi said nothing, she was too preoccupied as on screen Valerie kissed Gasper on the forehead and took her leave.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Devi had shooed her concerned best friends away to their own rooms and was preparing for bed. She'd just finished changing into her nightgown when the room's wards notified her that she had a visitor. Too tired by the stressful day to care she didn't pay attention to the wards identifying who it was besides the visitor being friendly.

Heading out to the the door to her bed chambers, she opened it to find Val. Devi swallowed a lump in her throat at the sight of her, not knowing what to say considering the situation. Especially when Val was looking at her with an unreadable expression.

_Is she here to tell me that we're over?_

Devi squashed that thought and ushered her in. "How did it go?"

"Why don't you tell me instead?" Val said mischievously, as she took a seat on the edge of the bed that the two of them had made love on too many times to count. "You were spying on me after all."

Val knew her too well. "I was. But I only watched, I didn't listen in."

The Rook burst into giggles at that admission.

Devi just blushed, which only served to cause the other woman to laugh harder.

As she finally calmed, Val explained her amusement. "That's just like you, Devi. You push the limits but without good reason won't cross them."

Devi shrugged, not knowing what to say to that.

"So you were asking about what happened with Gasper?" Val asked after a moment of a silence, the mischievous quality back in her tone.

Still standing, Devi nodded.

"Well, I asked him how he felt about me and he told me a long story about how I was the most important person to him growing up. How I had helped him escape the Tepes and what not. Fascinating stuff all around, it helped me fill in a lot of blanks in my memories. But it wasn't what I was looking for."

"What were you looking for?" Devi asked, dreading the answer.

Smiling teasingly, Val continued her description of her earlier conversation as if she hadn't heard. "Getting what I wanted took some prodding, but I eventually managed to get him to tell me how he _felt_ about me."

"And?"

"He told me loved me, of course." Val revealed acting nonplussed.

Devi meanwhile tensed even more, "And how did you feel about that?"

Val grew serious then, locking her eyes firmly with Devi's. "I was flattered. But I told him that my feelings for him, if I ever had any, had changed. I was in love with someone else now."

Devi felt her heart leap for joy, even as she hesitantly asked, "Me?"

Val's answer was to stand up and sensually prowl towards the Primal, whilst removing her jacket and tossing it to the ground.

* * *

Several exhausting hours later, a nude Devi sat up against the headboard of her bed, with a sleeping and equally nude Valerie's head in her lap.

_I was a fool to have been worried._ Devi chided herself as she lovingly ran her hand through the former Dhampir's blonde hair. As if in response to her thoughts, her lover stirred, coincidentally lightly beating her thigh with a fist.

Devi just smiled down affectionately at her Rook.

_Well I got the answer I was looking and hoping for._ Devi mused. _So I assume it's time to uphold my promise._

Sending out her mind, she quickly connected with that of the twins'. _Everything ready?_

_Yes, they're all asleep. Did it go well with Val?_

With a self-satisfied smirk, Devi sent a burst of images from the previous few hours of lovemaking to her other lovers.

_We'll take that as a yes._ The twins replied, sounding just a little hot and bothered. _Damn! We don't think we've ever seen Val be so adventurous before._

_She's usually shy when it's not just the two of us._ Devi explained. _Though she was particularly daring tonight._

_You mean kinky._ The twins teased.

Blushing furiously, Devi changed the topic. _Enough of that, let's get this over with._

_Right._

Slowing, subtly, so as not to alarm Val, Devi gathered her power causing her eyes to bleed black as void energy flooded her system. Just as carefully, she redirected the energy to the twins to fuel their powers. As the twins worked, throughout the palace of Mammon, Rias Gremory and her friends were suddenly enshrouded in darkness and started thrashing in their sleep.

* * *

The next day as the Mammon Peerage and their guests settled down for breakfast, Binh was pleased to note that the tension of the night before had lifted. Val had apparently chosen Devi sometime during the night and if their mutual afterglow was any indication, had consummated that decision as well.

Binh couldn't help but be relieved about that. Watching Val flounder around about her feelings, while their King looked on like a love struck fool had been painful. And as a former jiangshi that retained her undead inability to feel physical pain, being reminded that she was still susceptible to non-physical pain was frankly something she'd rather have avoided.

Her relief was also shared by the rest of the Mammon Peerage as Binh could observe from the happy conversations the whole group was sharing both verbally and telepathically. Binh herself was having a one-sided talk with Xiaoyu as the Chinese girl complained about the, in her words, "ridiculously extravagant breakfast" that had been served up even as she stuffed herself. Binh just nodded along, knowing from experience that she'd not be able to get a word in edgewise even if she tried. Her fellow Knight truly was, as Lady Furfur described, a tsundere.

In contrast to the Mammon Peerage's good cheer however, the Gremory group looked thoroughly miserable. They were all complaining about nightmares that Binh suspiciously noted shared some remarkable similarities. They all seemed to involve fighting horrible monsters while seeing their worst memories playing out in the background.

_That sounds too much like Devi's description of her Trail of Awakening to be coincidence. Especially since all of their group had similar dreams._

Binh's suspicions were confirmed, when Devi looked to them with a playful look in her eyes, and casually asked, "So Rias and company, did you like my training program?"

Some of the guests looked puzzled, but the sharper ones figured it out immediately. Binh was slightly surprised that the Red Dragon Emperor was one of them.

"The nightmares? Those were your training program for us." The Gremory King concluded.

Debi just nodded.

The other guests burst into an uproar then. Decrying what had happened as a breach of privacy, especially in regards to the memories reel. Binh rolled her eyes. What was privacy in comparison to growing stronger to protect oneself and those she'd loved. If she'd been in their shoes, she'd have thrown every last scrap of privacy, modesty and what have you away for the chance to become stronger. Maybe then she'd not have died.

Suddenly, a cream puff was plopped onto her plate. Looking at the source, she saw Xiaoyu looking at her worriedly, obviously having noticed her mood and trying to cheer her up with a helping of her favorite dessert. The shaman gave her a thankful smile and dug into her treat, no point letting it and her comrade's sentiment go to waste even as it did little to calm her down. Not when the other side of the table, the one occupied by their guests, were still whining like ungrateful children.

Fortunately, their King quieted them before Binh lost patience with them entirely. She really didn't want to cause a scene and create trouble for Devi. She owed the Satan too much for reincarnating her into a Devil and giving her a new life to make her life difficult like that.

Binh was distracted from her thoughts, which she'd admit her Peerage-mates were right and she got far too lost in at times, when the Gremory girl spoke.

"Lady Devora, how did you access those memo-"

_Stupid question. We only have the most powerful telepaths in the world as part of our Peerage._

Echoing Binh's own thoughts, Devi cut the girl off by gesturing to the twins.

The _children_ , and Binh knew they were about the same age as she was but their maturity marked them as such in her eyes, tried to keep complaining, but thankfully Devi cut them off by addressing the former Dhampir boy that had previously been the cause of so much grief for their Peerage. Who Binh noted with some anger was _still_ eyeing Val longing, though fortunately the Rook was unaffected this time.

"Vladi," The boy jumped a little in his seat at Devi addressing him directly. - _Pathetic! And he wanted to take Val away from Devi!? -_ "How do you like the new power you unlocked last night?"

The boy froze like a deer in the headlights for a moment, before to his credit and Binh's surprise, he took a fortifying breath and turned from looking at Val to face Devi with a determined air.

"I want to try it out." He said firmly as he summoned some kind of bestial construct made from darkness that loomed over his chair.

Binh and the rest of the Mammon Peerage tensed, ready to act if the boy attacked with his monster. Even Val, Binh was pleased to observe, whose hand had slipped into the folds of her skirt and was probably grasping one of the vials of Devi's blood that she could use to power up.

Sensing the tension, the guests likewise tensed. Though their stances betrayed their hesitance. _They should be worried. After all, they're picking a fight with Devi._

In contrast to everyone else at the dining table, Devi still looked nonchalant, though Binh noted the subtle narrowing of her eyes that betrayed how furious she was at the boy's blatant disrespect of her by summoning his monster and issuing threats while a guest at her table.

"I see. Then why don't we have a... what it's called… Ravel help me out." Devi said feigning good humor.

A tense Ravel glared at the children even as she replied, "You mean a Rating Game?"

"Yes, that."

Gremory looked ready to refuse, probably correctly assuming that she had no chance of anything other than an overwhelming defeat. However, her male Bishop shot her a determined look that had her sighing as she agreed.

_Looks like we'll get a chance to teach these children a lesson after all._

* * *

The moment the teleport into the pocket dimension that was the Rating Game's arena - a recreation of an urban warfare training yard - completed, the Mammon Peerage moved out like a well oiled machine. There was no need for words, spoken or telepathic, as in full on battle mode, the Peerage Network transmitted information between the various members in the form of pure thought.

It was thanks to this that allowed Jackie to pinpoint her far off target literally moments after the Game started, as images and other data from one of the twins' cloaked drones - one of many that they had summoned across the arena - were directly fed into her mind. Without hesitation she shifted [Death in the Dark] into a sniper rifle, fell into a firing position and took the shot.

Literally a mile away, at the very other edge of the arena, Twilight Healing's possessor was hit with a precise head shot and was eliminated from the game. _She's lucky I dialed down on the output for that shot, otherwise it would have killed her before the system could have saved her._

She could feel the others' agreement and even heard Xiaoyu complain in her typical contradictory manner about how void powers were unfairly overpowered even as she reveled in the easy 'kill'.

Still seeing through the lens of the undetected drone, Jackie saw the opposition scatter, seeking cover from what they presumed was more inevitable sniper fire. Well, most of them anyways, as the Red Dragon Emperor in the Cardinal Crimson Promotion form of his Sacred Gear's Balance Breaker, his King and her Queen instead chose to take flight and charge in her direction.

Too bad for them, by the time they were in the air, Xiaoyu had already snatched her up and with the enhanced speed and agility of her Black Boots helped her shift to a completely different firing position, so their retaliatory strikes did nothing more than destroy an empty building. Even worse for them, their reckless actions also served to leave them open to attack.

Jackie readied to take a shot, but Clyde beat her to it.

_The early bird gets the worm._ Her old friend sent even as she fired a high powered beam from her [Black Maw Cannon] that engulfed Gremory's Queen and easily eliminated the renowned Priestess of Thunder and Light.

The Red Dragon Emperor meanwhile was consumed in a sphere of void and was likewise eliminated.

_With that boy gone, the rest will be easy. Remember to leave Gremory and Vladi for last though._ Devi ordered even as Gremory dove for cover, a look of shock on her face.

Jackie just shook her head at the other girl's foolishness. _What did she think would happen if she put her heaviest hitter on the frontline from the get go? Of course her opposition would focus on taking him out. Or maybe she was so stupidly overconfident about his abilities that she thought he'd stand a chance against Devi, who would certainly move to counter him knowing no one else in the Peerage - except maybe Ravel on a good day - was his equal?_

Pushing her thoughts on Gremory's lack of tactical prowess aside, Jackie lined up a shot on Gremory's former valkyrie Rook. She fired and to her shock, her shot failed to connect. It was on target, but had been absorbed by the other devil's frankly insane layers of defensive magic. The enemy retaliated immediately, blasting her former position with an impressive barrage of elemental magic just as Xiaoyu pulled her away.

Unfortunately for the wizard-type Rook, while Jackie's shot had failed to eliminate her, it had destroyed all her magical defenses and left her open to a barrage of laser fire from a pack of dozens of the twins' drones as they uncloaked around her, taking her out.

The drones themselves were however quickly reduced to scrap as Gremory's other Rook engulfed them in a wave of Senjutsu conjured flames. Doing so gave away her position however, and she found herself swept up in a fire tornado for her troubles as Ravel took the 'kill'.

_There's only the Knights, both swordsmen, left._ Bonnie noted, sounding disappointed. She was clearly upset she hadn't gotten anyone yet.

Luckily for her, Gremoy's male knight literally stumbled upon where she'd been goofing off the whole match so far by having a coffee in an out of the way alley. Looking through her eyes, Jackie noted the boy's surprise at seeing Jackie seemingly relaxing while the Rating Game was in full swing. His distraction though cost him as faster than he could recover Bonnie leveled her [Rapid Death Dealer] on him and while still casually sipping her drink, opened fire.

The boy tried to dodge, but quickly found that even his Knight enhanced speed couldn't keep up with Bonnie's Void Gear's rate of fire. In moments, he was hit dozens of times and eliminated.

_Boring!_ Bonnie whined.

_Don't complain love. You got lucky. If he had chosen to use his Sacred Gears or Demon Swords instead of evading your fire, it was likely he'd have won._ Devi shot back.

_I know that!_ Bonnie rebutted. _Why did you think I pretended to be bored about this whole thing to confuse him and create an opening._

_Oh, don't pretend Bonnie! You_ are _bored._ Ravel sent, even as Jackie sent her agreement.

_Well, can you blame me? This is too easy. These idiots are useless. They barely know how to fight like a team._

No one refuted her. It _was_ true, though Jackie knew a lot of that assessment was biased and stemming from the fact that their Peerage was without doubt the best coordinated in the whole Underworld. It helped when you had the most powerful telepaths in the world on your team.

Jackie was pulled from her thoughts when Xiaoyu suddenly jerked her away as the floor she'd just been lying on exploded into shrapnel and Gremory's last Knight burst through the debris. Jackie shifted [Death in the Dark] into a sub-machine gun and let loose. But the blue-haired girl merely swung her oversized Holy Sword in front of her to act as a shield and continued her pursuit, even as they crashed out of the building they had previously been occupying and into the open air.

The girl was almost within swinging range of Jackie and Xiaoyu when she was suddenly blindsided by Val who slammed into her from the side, her invisibility spell dispelling at the last moment, as she punched the girl in the face with a fist coated in the former Dhampir's twin darkness and ice magic. Impressively, the Knight quickly recovered from the blow and tried to slash at Val but she just transformed into a flock of bats and flew away. In the instant, that she was caught off guard by this, Jackie took her shot. [Death in the Dark] now once more a powerful sniper rifle, blew a hole through the holy sword user's torso as the Game's systems teleported her to safety.

The recoil of firing [Death in the Dark] in sniper rifle form while in mid-air threw Jackie and Xiaoyu into a tumble, but Val quickly transformed back into her Devil form before catching and steadying them.

_Val you used your Dhampir powers!_ Xiaoyu sent, her incredulity clear.

_I did._ Val said with a nod as she let go and all three Devils took to the air on their own power. _I still hate it, but I've realized not everything about my past was a nightmare. I don't have to always be afraid of it anymore. I don't want to be and not holding myself back anymore because of it is a step in the right direction._

Jackie couldn't help but look at Val with greater respect than ever before. She'd always respected the former Dhampir for surviving her past, but to hear her taking it further and working through her hang ups about it was honestly quite inspiring.

_But enough of that, this Game is almost over._ Val observed. _Looks like the extras are dealt with Devi._

_Agreed. It's time for the final act of this then._ Devi sent back.

_Yes._ Val replied sounding uneasy. _Don't hurt him too much, ok? He's still my childhood friend._

_All this just so Devi can beat some sense into a brat who doesn't know when to let go?_ Xiaoyu sent sounding annoyed, like usual. _Isn't his a bit much?_

Normally Jackie found the Chinese Knight's contrary nature and seemingly endless complaints irritating, but in this case she totally agreed.

_Unfortunately, it seems some boys need a spanking before they learn their lesson._ Ravel sent uncharitably, even as she passed on the location for the Peerage to regroup.

_I just hope it doesn't take too long to educate the fool. We've wasted enough time on him._ Bonnie shot back angrily as she and everyone else flew towards the location Ravel indicated.

Jackie couldn't blame Bonnie for being angry. Her long-time friend had taken the way the boy had upset Val and Devi very seriously. More so than most of the Peerage. She always had been protective of those she considered hers.

_She does doesn't she?_ Val sent with a laugh as the three of them - Xiaoyu, Jackie and Val - joined the growing aerial encirclement around Gremory and her last Piece.

_I'll have to make it up to her for upsetting her._ The former Dhampir said casually, as if making it up to Bonnie was more important than what was about to happen. That it wasn't of the utmost importance to her.

No one in the Peerage was fooled, but no one called her out on it either. If this was how she wanted to cope with her anxiety then so be it.

Besides, they were currently too distracted to address the issue anyways.

* * *

"Rias, it looks like it's you and Vladi left." Devi observed airily, as if her Peerage hadn't just utterly demolished the Gremory girl's.

"It looks like it" Rias comments resignedly. "Your Peerage is truly terrifying. One-on-one the members of my Peerage might actually be stronger than yours but that didn't matter. Not with the Iwakura twins coordinating the efforts of their fellows to such an unmatched level."

"And your blunder at the start?"

Devi was pleased to see the girl wince, if she responded like that then it meant she knew where she had screwed up. There was hope for her yet.

"I let my surprise and anger get the better of me. After you took out Asia, I became too focused on avenging her and exposed Issei, allowing you to take him out."

_She believed the boy stood a chance against me? A Primal? Jackie was right that the girl was deluded in regards to her Pawn's power._

"I guess I should forfeit now." The girl said sounding disappointed. "There's no hope of me winning."

"Not yet." Gremory's remaining Piece said sounding determined. _Which if what I've read about him is correct is quite uncharacteristic of him and must have required quite a bit of courage on his part to manage._

"Gasper?" Rias said sounding shocked. _Considering a confrontation between him and me is very clearly what the whole Rating Game was about, that you're shocked when he steps up to do so speaks volumes. Very little of it good._

"I want to fight her." Rias gasped at this and Devi barely suppressed the desire to sneer. _Either the boy is usually so pathetic that him standing up for himself like this is completely unbelievable, which would make his usual mannerisms just sad. Or she doesn't know him well enough to even understand his motivations which just reflects badly on her._

"Gasper, you can't be serious! She's one of the most powerful beings in the universe."

"Please." The boy pleaded.

"Damn it! I'd hoped to avoid this."

"By pretending to fight even as you had everyone deliberately hold back so we'd lose before I could get the chance?"

_So that's her game? That's actually pretty smart. She knew just refusing to allow him to fight would just hurt him so she came up with all this._ Devi thought approvingly, her positive opinion of the Gremory girl restored.

"You knew?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out, not when everyone got taken out so easily."

"I'd think my Peerage had a part in that too." Devi cut in reminding them she was still there.

"And you'd still have won, I think." The boy admitted. "But not so easily, not if everyone was fighting seriously."

"Gasper, you don't need to do this."

"I do. Everyone says that Satan Mammon is super powerful but I want, no, I need to know for myself!" As he said this, darkness began to waft from his body. "I have to make sure Val will be safe."

Devi heard Val sigh in resignation in the background.

"Rias, let it be. Vladi, no, Gasper is determined. Do not stand in his way." Devi turned to her Peerage. "None of you interfere either."

Rias and the Mammon Peerage all nodded.

As Devi turned to face Gasper, the boy struck, engulfing her and the entire surrounding area in darkness. From this darkness he conjured a horde of shadow monsters that swarmed Devi trying to tear her apart.

For a brief moment, it seemed like Gasper had the upper hand.

Then Devi's voice called out, "[Oblivion]"

Suddenly a massive sphere of void came into being with herself at the center. It pulsed with powerful energy for a moment before collapsing, as it did air streamed into the area the sphere had occupied. The Mammon Peerage only managed to stay in the air thanks to Ravel's skill with wind magic redirecting the onrushing air away from them. Rias and Gasper were not so lucky and were dragged along by the winds and fell without any grace at the bottom of a depression in the ground.

"She destroyed everything!" Rias said as she stood up and gaped in awe around her at the destruction Devi's spell had caused. "Gasper's darkness, his monsters, the ground, the air. Everything that sphere touched is gone!"

"They have all been consumed by the void," a nude Devi explained as she looked down at her opponents, even as she conjured a new set of clothes. "Even my clothes."

While Rias was awestruck by Devi's display of power, Gasper was instead taking the opportunity to summon more of his darkness, this time fashioning it into a single massive monster. With a furious roar, the newly fashioned shadow construct in the shape of a Western dragon charged at the Primal with its maw wide open, clearly aiming to swallow her whole.

Even as the opposing King gasped in surprise at her Bishop's creation, Devi unhurriedly spun out of the way of the shadow dragon's lunge and with a decisive chop of her hand conjured a void blade and decapitated it. The construct did not fall apart like she'd expected though, and instead a new head and neck instead grew out from its body and lunged at her.

Despite her surprise, the dragon's attack was simply too slow and Devi had plenty of time to vanish in a blur of speed. Reappearing above the creature, Devi fired a single beam of void energy that utterly consumed the dragon.

"Nice attempt Gasper, but simply switching strategies from quantity to quality won't be enough. Not against me." The Satan lectured.

"Then how about both!?" The former Dhampir shouted defiantly as he crafted a quartet of shadow dragons to attack the Primal.

"Better, but still not good enough." Devi commented idly as she lazily pointed her at the dragons one at the time, releasing a beam of power that utterly destroyed them each time as she did so. She did not stop at eliminating the shadow constructs however and instead ended her barrage with last shot at the enemy Bishop.

To his credit Gaper managed to fly away fast enough to avoid a direct hit from the beam but he was still clipped by the attack and sent spiraling towards the ground. Still not admitting his defeat, the former Dhampir struggled to his feet, all the while conjuring more darkness though from how sluggishly the darkness was responding to his call, it seemed he was at his limits. _Admirable. But this is over._

Raising her palm in the direction of the two Gremory devils, Devi gathered void energy for only a moment - _That should be enough._ \- before intoning, "[Void Cannon]"

At her invocation, her spell unleashed a massive beam of void energy that instantly consumed her opponents, eliminating them and ending the Rating Game.

* * *

A day later and after the Gremory Peerage had had the opportunity to recover from the Rating Game, Devi was entertaining them with a farewell feast.

"Congratulates all of you for completing my training, I hope it has proven useful."

"It certainly has, Lady Devora." Rias replied honestly. "I sincerely thank you for your hospitality. And also for your accommodation of Gasper's feelings."

"Of course I did. He's my Valerie's dear friend after all." Devi said with a smile, even as she gestured towards the two former Dhampirs.

Val was scolding Gasper for his reckless behavior during the Rating Game. "Seriously Gasper, never do something like that again. If my Devi was serious, you'd be dead."

"I know, but I had to be sure that she could keep you safe." Gasper replied defiantly.

Val just sighed, "Silly male pride. Just don't be so reckless in the future, ok?"

"I promise."

The two Kings smiled at the two childhood friends.

_And that's all they'll ever be to each other from now on, if I can help it._ Devi vowed.

The rest of the meal passed in good cheer, with the two Peerages enthusiastically discussing the Rating Game. The Gremory side defending their performance while insisting they would have had a better showing if they'd not held back. The Mammons on the other hand making the case that at their best or not, they'd still have lost at Devi's hand if no one else's. The Gremorys tried to refute this coming up with one implausible strategy to deal with Devi's overwhelming power after another. Their debate was all in good fun though and all involved had a pleasant time, but all good things must come to an end and soon the Gremory Peerage and their Angel tagalong departed.

"You satisfied with how everything turned out, Val?" Devi asked her lover as they watched the light of the magic circle that teleported the Gremorys away fade.

"Very much so." Val said as she leaned into Devi's side. "The only thing that would make it better is that trip to Agreas you promised us."

Devi blinked in confusion. "Since when have I promised you a trip to that tourist trap?"

"You didn't? I distinctly recalled that you did. Ravel, you remember right?"

"I think she said it'll be a honeymoon." Ravel said with a mischievous smirk. "Twins?"

"We remember Devi saying it would be absolutely wonderful. Right, Bonnie?"

"Yup."

Devi just sighed, even as she could sense the rest of her Peerage's amusement at her predicament. _The traitors._

"Alright. We'll go as soon as I make the arrangements." Devi said resignedly as she caved to her lovers' not so subtle demand.

Her lovers' cheered, and for the life of her, Devi couldn't think of why she'd objected in the first place.

* * *

A week later Devi was in her study lounging around the fireplace with her harem planning their honeymoon as her ladies insisted on calling their trip to Agreas.

"Oh we've gotta make a trip to the spas." Ravel demanded as she showed off an image of one of the city's renowned spas in one of the dozen or so travel guides that the six of them were going through together. "They're some of the best in the whole Underworld."

_Spa. Check._ The twins declared as they wrote the latest proposed stop on a steadily growing list.

Devi would have reminded them not to go overboard but the sheer enthusiasm all five of her lovers were showing as they debated the merits of stopping at one attraction or another quelled any protest.

"I'd like to make a stop at the city's museum myself, take a look at its permanent exhibit on the city's history." Val, the history buff, suggested.

"Couldn't Devi just tell you all about it?" Bonnie asked curiously. "She was around when the city was first built right?"

"I was. I even helped in its construction." Devi revealed.

"That means you can tell us all kinds of interesting stuff about the exhibits, couldn't you?" Val asked, her eyes bright with excitement at the mere prospect.

"I can try." Devi said indulgently even as Val got up and gave her a hug in gratitude.

_Museum. Check._ The twins said as they added it to the list.

"Hey twins, where would you two like to go? All of us have made suggestions-"

"And all of yours were for famous eateries, Bonnie." Ravel teased, earning her a halfhearted glare, even as Bonnie continued her question as if she hadn't been interrupted.

"-but the two of you haven't said anything." Val and Ravel seemed to agree with her as they too sent the twins encouraging looks. Devi joined in as well, even though she already had a fairly good idea of what they would say.

The twins considered the matter for a long moment before replying, _We don't really have a specific place we'd like to go on Agreas. Just the idea of visiting a floating city is enough for us._

"You two are so easi-"

Bonnie was cut off however, again Devi noted with amusement, when the door to the study slammed open and a frantic looking Lulu and Attie entered.

"What happened?" Devi said seriously, sobering at the sight of her two friends' uncharacteristic demeanor. Her lovers seemed to catch on as well as they put down or turned away from the travel guides to give their full attention to the new arrivals.

Said new arrivals spotted the travel guides and if possible looked more anxious. They exchanged a quick look before Lulu grimly informed that, "Rizevim just captured Agreas."

* * *

An hour later, Devi was alone in her study as she held an emergency conference with the other leaders of the alliance over the recent development via magical communications.

"This is an absolute disaster!" Shemhazai declared. "How did the Chaos Brigade even have so much manpower left?"

"They're calling themselves Qlippoth now." Micheal corrected. "As for their numbers? My guess is that they pulled out all their stops and mustered all their available forces to accomplish this feat."

"I agree." Indra opined. "With most of the Brigade's factions like the Old Satan Faction and the Hero Faction destroyed, that's the only way they'd have managed to get the troops necessary for this."

_Considering he'd once backed the Hero Faction, he'd know._ Devi thought with well concealed anger. She'd only recently learned, from Attie's reports, of the Hindu god's previous involvement with the Chaos Brigade. _It certainly explains why he chose to back Cao Cao's membership into DxD._

"Pardon my ignorance on the matter, but why is the fall of this one city that important?" Zeus asked, sounding confused.

"If it was any other city, it wouldn't be an issue. A single city in the hands of the enemy is a blow, but not a truly significant one in the grand scheme of things." Odin explained. "Agreas however is different."

"How so?"

"It is so important because it is the place that controls the flow of the air in the Underworld and thus its weather." Serafall explained, in her best diplomatic voice, quite the feat considering how upset she'd been at her beloved sister, Sona's, defeat during the fight for the city. "It is also is a place that houses the technology of the Original Satans and the mine for the highest quality crystals that we use to create both the Evil Pieces and Brave Saints."

"I see. So the loss of the city means Qlippoth can now use its control over the weather to hold the whole Underworld ransom while also denying both the Devils and Angels access to a major source of vital resources they need to perpetuate their kind." Zeus surmised. "A major blow indeed."

"Yes, and made worse by the fact that the enemy has somehow secreted the city away, making it impossible to immediately counterattack and retake it." Sirzechs added.

"Indeed, though I must inquire as to the effectiveness of the DxD team we set up." Zeus inquired. "How did it fare during the attack."

"Admirably." Devi replied in lieu of Sirzechs and Serafall who having immediate relatives who were members in the group would have been biased. "They might not have prevented the city's capture but they did ensure the near total evacuation of civilians from it. All while dealing heavy losses to the enemy."

"Well then it seems there was some good to this development. We also managed to learn Qlippoth's intentions, did we not?"

"There's that, Odin, though considering their leader Rizevim Lucifer seems intent on reviving Trihexa and using it as a tool to facilitate the conquest of another unprepared world. I wouldn't call it a good thing. After all, there's nothing to say he wouldn't use that monster to attack us before departing for this other world."

"That's true, Indra." Zeus mused, "Though I wonder how a Primal will fare against Trihexa."

"As well as I would against any other Primal." Devi replied. "Of which I'm fairly certain Trihexa is."

"It is." Shemhazai affirmed. "Apparently Azazel checked with Ophis, and she confirmed it."

"Well damn!" Indra cursed. "So Devora, you _sure_ you can't beat it, even with Ophis' help?"

Devi shrugged, even if the audio only nature of the communication magic prevented the others from seeing it, and replied, "I've never encountered it before, so I cannot judge. What I can say is that Rizevim making as bold a move as this means he's close to his goal and based on what we know that means releasing not one but _two_ Primals."

"Yet he only mentions Trihexa in his announcement of his motives." Zeus observed.

"It is likely he is unaware of the other Primal tied to Trihexa's seal." Indra offered. "After all, as far as we know, unlike us he doesn't have Primals who he can approach for information."

"On that note, how does he even intend to control Trihexa once he frees it?"

"He probably intends to direct it rather than control it, Odin." Devi explained. "Point it in the direction of his targets and let it tear them apart. From what I've been able to learn about Trihexa, it seems little more than a mad beast. If managed carefully, that might be possible."

"Gambling on a possibility when dealing with something as dangerous as a Primal? Foolish." Zeus concluded.

"Not foolish. Mad." Sirzechs countered. "Rizevim Lucifer is insane."

"Semantics. Whether, he is foolish or insane is irrelevant at the moment." Indra chided. "What is important is figuring out how long till Rizevim finishes unsealing those Primals and finding the flying city is as soon as possible, preferably before the seal is undone."

"We've devoted all available resources to locating Agreas." Serafall assured. "Though how long we have… Devi?"

"I honestly have no idea." Devi replied apologetically. "I have no information on the nature of the seal in question or the methodology Rizevim is employing to undo it and so cannot give an accurate opinion. Though I can say that it'll be soon."

"Why do you say that?" Indra asked suspiciously.

"Because I helped design Agreas and lent my power to activate some of its systems." Devi explained to some sharp inhalations of breath. "Which makes it a relic of mine and we know Rizevim is collecting Primal relics for his attempt at unsealing the Primals. Furthermore, I have also sensed the presence of the two sealed Primals growing,"

"The seal is weakening then?" Michael questioned.

"Yes. Putting that together with Agreas being a relic of mine, I can only conclude that Rizevim's seizure of the city has given him all the Primal artifacts he needs to break the seal."

The other leaders muttered uneasily.

"Calm down, everyone." Michael said in his most soothing voice. "Now is not the time to panic."

"Michael is correct." Serafall added. "At this point, there's nothing we can do but search for Agreas while preparing our forces to retake it."

"And prepare for the worst should it happen." Shemhazai reminded.

"True." Michael conceded. "But my point is that panicking now will not help us do any of that."

Murmurs of agreement to that sentiment came from everyone.

"Very well," Sirzechs said when everyone had calmed down. "I think that's all we can do today, so let's adjourn and get to it."

One by one the leaders agreed and cut their connections. At last Devi was left alone pondering how the countdown to doomsday was counting down.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Devi was preoccupied with coordinating with the other leaders of the alliance various operations to search for the location of Agreas. Unfortunately, despite the combined efforts of no less than six of the most powerful supernatural Factions in the world, their search turned up nothing. The alliance had however made good use of the time given to them and had drawn up a good plan of attack for whenever the city was found. All the while though, she could feel the presence of the two sealed Primals steadily growing stronger.

As if this sword of Damocles hanging over her head wasn't enough, a crisis of a more personal nature had also chosen this moment to strike. Apparently, her brother-in-law had had a Rating Game with the champion of the Games, Belial Diehauser, and had gone missing during the match. After being defeated, instead of being teleported to safety by the Game's systems, he'd instead disappeared without a trace.

Needless to say, Ravel was worried sick. Even Devi was worried, despite their somewhat troubled first meeting, she quite liked her youngest brother-in-law. He like her, lone among her friends and relations, had a harem as well and unbeknownst to everyone they had occasionally shared with each other tips on how to manage the complexities of such an arrangement.

In fact Devi was so upset at Riser's disappearance that she was determined to confront Diehauser Belial to see if he had anything to tell her. Which with her Peerage, was what Devi was preparing to do.

"If he's in anyway responsible…" Ravel trailed off, the wind around her whipping into a frenzy at her agitation, as they walked towards one of the outbound teleportation nodes.

"Then I'll make sure his death is slow and painful." Devi added, even as various members of her Peerage either nodded in satisfaction or cringed. Nobody objected though, they all understood that if Belial was truly responsible then he deserved to pay.

Devi was pulled from her vengeful thoughts though when she received a communications call from Hansel. Frowning at what it could be about, Devi answered, not once breaking her purposeful stride. "Hansel, what is this about?"

"My Satan, I'm sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing, but we've found Riser Phenex."

Stopping dead in her tracks, her Peerage following suit, Devi asked incredulously, "Where?"

"At the primary inbound teleportation node, my lady."

That was such a preposterous development that Devi would have asked Hansel if he was joking. But she knew her general would never do that, not about something like this.

"Is he alright?" Ravel asked worriedly, jumping into the conversation.

"He's fine, Lady Ravel, just a little exhausted and rambling on about how Belial has joined Qlippoth and was strangely interested in Phoenix Tears."

Devi would have pressed for more details but a new incoming call, distracted her.

_From Ajuka!? What would he want?_

"Hansel, I have a call from Satan Beelzebub. He wouldn't call me if it wasn't important. Call Ravel and explain the situation with Riser to her while I handle this."

"As you command." Hansel said as he dutifully cut his call.

Answering her fellow Satan's call, Devi was immediately met with Ajuka saying, "We've found Agreas."

"What? When?"

"We just received word a few minutes ago. The Vali team located it and informed the rest of DxD, they've deployed already."

"I'll prepare my forces as planned." Devi said, and was just about to cut the call to do just that when Ajuka spoke up.

"Did Riser arrive safely?"

Devi was stunned by the question, was Ajuka Beelzebub implying that he had something to do with Riser's kidnapping. "What do you know about that?"

"I was the one that advised Diehauser to send him to you."

"Explain." Devi demanded.

"He's a double agent, working to sabotage Rizevim's efforts from the inside."

"Particularly his Phoenix Tears?"

"Yes."

"You could have told me!" She was almost an expert on the Tears, a natural byproduct of being a genius tinkerer married to a Phenex. If Diehauser and Ajuka needed information on the Tears so as learn how to sabotage Rizevim's supply, then they could have just approached her.

"And risk Operational Security?"

Devi had no counter to that. While she could have easily helped with their plan, it would also likely have made things quite obvious. Devi knew very well that Rizevim watched her and her dealings very closely. As a known Primal, he would be a fool not to. While that did not mean that she could not have passed on the information they needed discretely, it would have been a risky move at best. In light of who they were dealing with, it was a risk not worth taking.

"Fine. You have a point." The Primal conceded grudgingly.

"Glad you agree, Devi." Ajuka said sounding pleased with himself. "Now I think you have a job to do."

Devi just cut the call, irritated with her fellow Satan's smugness.

Shaking her head to clear her mind of the distraction, she turned to face her Peerage, including a Ravel that had looked up from her ongoing call with Hansel that now revolved around her issuing the necessary orders to carry out the planned assault on Agreas.

Everyone wore determined faces, ready for her to make the fateful announcement.

"It's time. We go to war."

* * *

**AN:**

**So this chapter is a basically just tying up loose ends [Gasper/Valerie] and a prelude to the climax of the story, the Second Battle of Agreas. Hence the title of the chapter, after all both tying up loose ends and a prelude are necessary before a story's climax after all.**

**And also about the bit in the middle where I implied that Val had joined in on some of the twins' sexual encounters with Devi. That's totally what I was saying. Devi would inevitably want to experiment with multiple partners at least once in awhile. In the course of which, they'd have sex with other members of the harem or just be there while Devi does. Whether they actually have sex with others besides Devi, do it often or without Devi involved at all really depends on the individual. That's just normal for a harem situation.**

**Now some perverts among you, myself included, might be wondering the specifics on how this pans out. Well, here's my take on it: Bonnie and the twins are fully polyamorous with everyone willing in the harem. Val meanwhile only sleeps with Devi though will be willing to have sex with other harem members if the encounter at least includes Devi. Ravel on the other hand wants to only have sex with Devi, though she has had sex with the others on rare occasions for her wife's enjoyment.**

**That's all I have to say about this chapter actually, so as usual I hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta. If you're interested drop me a PM.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	12. The Second Battle of Agreas

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Second Battle of Agreas**

The flying island of Agreas was a truly fantastic site. It was a massive floating mass roughly the same size as that of Manhattan from which bits of crystals, some as tiny as a speck and others as massive as any skyscraper, jutted out of the basalt rock. The city of Agreas was also quite amazing, with modernesque and postmodern structures blending seamlessly into much more ancient looking buildings that would not have looked out of place in the bronze age. It was this incredible beauty, both natural and by intelligent design, that had allowed the island to become the premier tourist destination in all the Underworld.

Today however, for the second time in its recent history, the city's streets were not overrun by happy tourists enjoying their vacations, but instead by warriors fighting for their lives. DxD as per their mission as being the fast reaction force of the alliance had assaulted the island as soon as its location was determined and they were able. Even now, they fought valiantly against the forces of Qlippoth who had taken the city weeks earlier. They made little progress however, as despite their apparent firepower advantage, the Qlippoth defenders were well prepared for them, exploiting well thought out strategies and the smart use of their superior numbers to effectively hold them at bay.

Observing this from the heart of the floating island, Qlippoth's leader Rizevim Livan Lucifer smiled in satisfaction.

"Looks like all that effort in studying and developing counters to this DxD force was worth it, My King." Observed a man with a graceful face, grey hair and eyes.

"You're so right, Belial. Thanks to all our hard work, these little distractions won't be able to spoil our fun." Rizevim replied with a demented smile. "After all, we can't let small fry interfere when the big boys~ come out to play."

The Super Devil gestured to a nondescript box tightly bound by chains of golden light that hovered in mid-air amid the large chamber. Scattered around said chamber were dozens of objects of various makes: books, weapons, clothes and jewelry. All of which glowed with power and from which flowed a stream of energy that attacked the box's chains, eating away at them. The largest of these streams however came from the massive crystal that dominated the chamber. This was the central crystal that empowered Agreas, keeping it in the air and from which the Evil Pieces and Brave Saints were created. Now however, it and the other artifacts in the chamber were being put to another use.

The breaking of Trihexa's seal.

For a moment, Rizevim and his lieutenant stood admiring as the power of their gathered artifacts steadily eroded the seals that kept the Mad Primal sealed. Suddenly an explosion rocked the chamber and Rizevim frowned. Turning to Belial, he ordered, "Go help the idiots up top. If that rocking was any indication, they're having a little trouble."

"I, Diehauser Belial, hear and obey, my King." The man said with a bow, as he left to obey.

"Have fun~!" Rizevim offered cheerfully in parting, never once taking his eyes off the ritual in front of him.

For ten whole minutes, the Lucifer luxuriated in the calm as his loyal henchman presumably turned the tide against those DxD fools and pushed them back. Unfortunately for the Super Devil, his pleasant observation of his coming triumph was shattered when he felt the world shift around him.

_That wasn't an explosion. What was that!?_

Hurriedly turning his eyes away from the undisturbed ritual, he spied the screens showing the progress of the battle for the island.

_Oh! That's totally cheating!_ The Lucifer whined as he saw the latest development in the skies around the floating island.

* * *

All around the floating island, rifts in space had opened up leading to various bases of the alliance. From these openings, poured forth an immense army. From Heaven, with no less than its leader Michael leading the way, the Angelic Hosts flew into battle. From the Underworld, poured out a horde of Devils under the overall command of the Satan Falbium Asmodeus, alongside a sizable force of Fallen Angels led by the Grigori's Governor-General Shemhazai. Out of the rift to Asgard surged forth an army of Valkyries and Einherjar led by a contingent of Norse gods with Thor at their head. From the five peaks of Mount Sumeru came Sun Wukong leading a contingent of Devas and Buddhas. The Greeks, not to be out done, marched from Mount Olympus with the Twelve Olympians at the head of an army of gods and demigods. Last but not least were the alliance's newest member, a force of youkai led by their leader, the nine-tailed kitsune Yasaka.

The vanguard of this second wave of the alliance's attack was Tywin Viné and his crack siege troops. As his men poured out of the portals he took a moment to marvel at the sight before him.

_To tear holes in reality itself just to bypass the city's anti-transport wards and allow us to move our armies. Truly My Lady has reached a new pinnacle of power._ Eyeing the very visible surprise the enemy was exhibiting at the massive force that was massing in the air around the floating island, Tywin smiled a vicious smile. _And to catch the enemy by surprise with such a mighty force, truly Ladies Leloucia and Atlan have outdone themselves._

The Viné lord was pulled from his musings when his son Tyrion flew up to him.

"Father, the troops are ready." Tyrion informed.

"They made good time despite the shock of our method of travel. As expected from our men." Tyrion nodded in agreement to that. "Give the orders my son."

"Yes, Father." Tyrion said with a bow before turning to the men and calling up a series of spells that would put him in contact with all their troops at once. As he did, Tywin could barely contain the pride at his son. He showed all the signs of a great commander. Not to say he didn't have his faults, his foolishness had after all led to Eligor's death. But that Lady Mammon had not only chosen to forgive and even help cover up that fact and now trusted him to play such a pivotal role in this momentous assault was proof that even the Satan recognized Tyrion's potential.

"All forces! You know your targets, you've drilled on what to do when this day came countless times already. So I will not bore you by repeating any of that. Just go forth, secure the beachheads for our allies, and lay waste to our enemies as you do it! For Satan Mammon!"

Taking up Tyrion's battlecry of "For Satan Mammon!", the Viné force flew straight for choke points that could be used to control movement within the city, communications nodes, armories and every immediately accessible strategic location on the island. They braved withering fire from the city's defenders, killing dozens of them, but they never faltered in their charge.

Behind them the allied armies still busied themselves organizing themselves, watching with respect as the brave Devils stormed their targets and unleashed their full fury on any and all defenders they found, creating safe landing zones and avenues of approach to the island for them with their lives.

* * *

Seeing him and his fellow Asgardians upstaged, the Norse thunder god, Thor let out a frustrated bellow. The god with shoulder-length red hair, a curly red beard and bodybuilder arms, and who was dressed in a sleeveless leather jerkin, dark iron gauntlets and a chainmail vest, turned to his compatriots and roared, "Warriors of Asgard! Are you going to let a bunch of Devils show us up!?"

As one the gathered soldiers of Asgard responded with a resounding, "NO!"

Raising his mighty hammer Mjolnir, Thor declared, "Then to battle! For Asgard!"

With the mighty warrior god at their head, the armies of the Norse charged into the fray. The Qlippoth defenders were however not to be taken lightly and having overcome their surprise, had activated the island's previously hidden defenses. Unexpectedly, the various crystals that dotted the island's landscape suddenly began glowing before from them arced massive bolts of eldritch lightning.

One such bolt of deadly power shot straight at Thor but the god merely summoned his own lightning and channeling its power through mighty Mjolnir, met the bolt head on. There was a mighty burst of thunder as the two forces met and cancelled each other out. Dozens more bolts came the god's way but he flew on undeterred, his powers and hammer negating or swatting each one aside.

While his fellow gods like Tyr and Ullr weathered these attacks as easily as their general did, their godly powers more than a match for the Devil's weapons, the rest of his troops were however not so lucky. Hundreds of Valkyries and Einherjar were vaporized as the terrible lightning swept across their ranks, cutting through even their best defenses. Even then, they did not flinch at their losses and continued their headlong dash to the city.

Not willing to be let their allies steal all the glory, the Norse's allies followed their lead, only a moment or two behind them. Together the allied army ran the gauntlet of Agreas' defenses.

* * *

_To all forces on Agreas, focus on destroying those crystals spires. The lightning is devastating our forces._

"You heard Lady Amon, men. Our allies need help. Let's give it!" Tyrion roared as he charged at one of the floating city's many crystal spires, all while he shifted his form from that of the dwarf he typically wore into that of a twelve foot tall warrior giant. His squad of a dozen Devils following his lead.

They were met mid-way there by a squad of Qlippoth magicians and Devils who had set up a defensive position a few feet from the base of the crystal, who from behind cover began raining a whole host of magical attacks on them. Tyrion responded by shifting his shape into a monstrous centipede, one large enough to fill up the whole street. His new exoskeleton withstood the enemy barrage easily even as his men shielded by his bulk returned fire with their own magic and he lashed out with his antenna.

Thanks to his new form, he and his men overwhelmed the defenders, barely slowing down in the process. Once past the enemy position, Tyrion's man redirected their fire to the spire, causing cracks to form on the crystal's surface but it held. Tyrion meanwhile was once again shifting forms, this time into a oversized rhino. Once done, he picked up speed and charged right into the spire. The force of his blow sending the spire collapsing to the ground where it shattered into a million pieces.

"On to the next one, men!" Tyrion ordered even as he shifted back into the guise of a giant warrior.

With a resounding, "Yes My Lord!", the Devils followed their leader to their next fight.

* * *

"Damnit! They managed to bring up the city's old defenses!" A tall athletic looking girl with curly blond hair cursed as she pulled sharply on the reins of her pegasus to avoid one of the deadly bolts of lightning that Agreas' numerous towering crystals were shooting.

"Why does a tourist resort even have crazy lightning shooting crystal tower thingies!?" A very handsome young man, with jet black hair and bright sea green eyes seated on a jet black pegasus shot back as he guided his steed to safety as another of the bolts shot their way.

"It wasn't always a resort, Percy! It used to be a major fortress for the Old Satans during the Great War." The girl declared as the duo dived into the relative safety of the city's streets, away from the lightning. "This must be some kind of hold over system from that time that Qlippoth reactivated."

"I get that, Annabeth, but why don't one of the dozens of gods here just blast the whole city and be done with it?" Percy asked as he uncapped a pen which quickly transformed into a three foot bronze blade that he used to decapitate a Qlippoth Devil that flew up to engage him and his friend.

"Because, Seaweed Brain, they can't." Annabeth explained even as she stabbed her knife viciously into a magician who had tried to sneak up on her with invisibility to use some kind of clearly cursed blade that he had in hand. "The city has wards specifically designed to weather that."

"But we have so many gods here, I mean-" Percy cut himself off as he glared at an incoming stream of high-powered water that promptly did a u-turn and slammed into its conjurer.

"Seriously? Attacking a son of Poseidon with water?" Said son of the sea god commented derisively.

"They don't know who you are Percy. You're not famous outside the Greek world." Annabeth explained with an exasperated sigh, even as she dug out a few grenades and threw them at the squad of magicians who were attacking them, engulfing the magic users in greedy green flames that burnt them to cinders.

"Oh, right." Percy replied with a sheepish nod. "Anyways like I was saying, there are enough gods to take out the city's defenses."

"Maybe." Annabeth agreed, as the two young adults turned towards the sound of more fighting. "But this city is very important to the Devils and Angels for some reason, so I don't think they'll try that except as a last resort."

"Some reason? Athena didn't tell you?"

"Mum said it was a secret of the Devils and Angels and I shouldn't pry." The daughter of the goddess of wisdom said with a pout.

"So we're just going to needlessly risk our lives for some reason we're not told about? That sucks."

"True. But what's new? We're demigods. This is par for the course."

"I know." Percy admitted with a sigh as he and Annabeth caught sight of a vicious fight between a squad of Qlippoth Devils and a mixed group of forces from the Three Factions. With the latter slowly but surely being overwhelmed by their enemy's superior numbers.

Setting aside his frustration at his lot in life, the demigod son of Poseidon's face settled into a serious visage as he charged into the fray with a battlecry. "For Olympus!"

* * *

While many of the allied forces had already swarmed the island and were engaging Qlippoth in urban warfare in the city's streets. The Archangel Michael and the Grigori's leader, Shemhazai did their best to secure the skies around the island to allow for the alliance's remaining troops to reach the island. A task made extremely difficult with the city's defenses at full power.

"Didn't Devora say the city's defenses should be non-functional?" Shemhazai asked as he conjured a massive screen of light to take the blasts of lightning that had been headed for a contingent of Greek nymphs bearing medical supplies for a field hospital.

"She said they should be, but that Rizevim could probably reactivate them with some effort." Michael reminded his Fallen brother, as he shaped a large light spear and threw it at the crystal spire responsible for the earlier attack and destroying it. "It is why we were assigned this detail during the planning."

"So she did." The Fallen leader admitted with a frustrated sigh. "Though I'd hoped it would not be something that needed to be done."

"That, brother, is something we can both agree on." Michael said with a nod even as he conjured a barrier of light to shield a squad of Valkyries escorting some injured back through the still open portal to Asgard.

Shemhazai followed up Michael's defense with some offense of his own as he destroyed the attacking crystal tower with a light spear.

"Less talk, more fighting." Shemhazai declared as he flew off towards a beleaguered group of youkai desperately evading a veritable lightning storm.

"He was the one who started the conversation." Michael observed with a shake of his head, as he flew after the Fallen.

* * *

Unlike the rest of the allied forces, the Devas and Buddhas being all god-tier beings in their own rights, were all individually capable warriors. As such, where the rest of the allied contingents had stuck together or broke out into small groups as they engaged the enemies, they had instead broke off to each fight their own battles.

The Devas had charged onto the island and happily gone on a killing spree, devastating the enemy ranks. Many of the Buddhas, with their more pacifistic nature had instead opted to stay in the air and assist Michael and Shemhazai in shielding their forces still in the air and destroying the crystal spires.

Sun Wukong, their nominal leader who had quite unwillingly been redeployed from the DxD to lead the Devas and Buddhas in their assault, had chosen something of a middle path between the two options favored by his peers. Like the Devas he had rushed into the city to engage the enemy, but like the Buddhas he was focusing on destroying the spires - something the Devas in their bloodlust seemed to be neglecting - to save lives.

He was thus hip deep in one of the many skirmishes at the base of one of the crystal towers. A particularly heavily defended one. A fight in which he was joined by no less than Yasaka, leader of the Kyoto Youkai and newest member of the alliance.

"What are you even doing here, fox?" The Buddha asked as he used his Ruyi Jingu Bang to sweep aside a squad of Devils that had surrounded the kyuubi. "If you die here, wouldn't it destabilize your city?"

"That is true, Great Buddha." The youkai replied politely even as she fired a barrage of fox fire at a line of magicians behind some cover that was raining spells on a squad of Fallen. "However, is it also not true that if we fail today that the Apocalyptic Beast and one other monster of equal power will be unleashed? That I think is a fate I'm willing to take the risks involved to come fight against."

"Is that so?" The Great Victorious Fighting Buddha asked rhetorically. "Well then, let's get this over with shall we?"

With that the mighty Buddha threw his legendary rod into the air towards the crystal tower, which in mid-flight grew in size and began spinning like a frisbee. When it impacted with the spire, it easily bisected the crystal.

"Can't have you be away from Kyoto too long, can we?" The Monkey King said as he grasped his weapon as it flew back his way.

"You have my thanks, Great One." Yasaka offered graciously.

The Great Sage Equaling Heaven just nodded, already moving towards another of the pesky crystals. The kyuubi following in his wake.

* * *

Back in the palace of Mammon, Devi, her Peerage, Attie and Lulu were observing the ongoing battle from the Satan's study.

"I should be out there with the rest of them!" Devi said as she banged her fist onto her study's desk in frustration.

"You know you can't," Lulu said without taking her eyes off the screens showing the course of the battle. "If the worse does happen, and the two Primals are released before we can stop Rizevim, we'll need you to face them. Taking that into consideration, letting you go to the field and risk yourself beforehand would be foolhardy."

"I know. It's just-"

"Difficult?" Attie offered.

Devi just nodded her head in agreement, even as Ravel took her head and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"You've already done your share, Devi." Bonnie offered soothingly. "You created those portals, remember?"

Devi nodded, she _did_ remember. It was hard to forget the only worthwhile contribution she'd made to the course of the whole battle so far.

_Don't think like that, Devi!_ The twins chided. _If not for you creating those portals, we would have neither the advantage of surprise or numbers that we now enjoy._

"The twins are right, Devi. You've done plenty already. Stop beating yourself up over not being able to do more." Val added, even as the rest of the Peerage and Attie all nodded along.

"What in the world!" Lulu suddenly exclaimed catching everyone's attention as they turned to see the tide of the battle suddenly turning against them as a horde of beings in red dragonoid armor with wings began appearing from nowhere and attacked the allied forces.

"Those are-"

* * *

**A short while earlier…**

"My Satan! Our forces are being overwhelmed!" A panicked Devil shouted as he rushed into the central chamber of Agreas where the ritual to unseal Trihexa was underway.

"Tell me something I don't know, yeah~" The self-styled Satan said sounding oddly jovial despite the dire situation his forces were facing.

Taken aback by his leader's seeming good humor in the face of defeat, the Devil took a moment to compose himself before replying, apparently knowing that Rizevim was serious in wanting an answer to his request for new information.

_Good little dog. So well trained._ The Super Devil mused even as he didn't once take his eyes off the ritual, which he was sure was almost complete. The links of the glowing chain were almost completely corroded away already.

"Err… Our Phoenix Tears have mysteriously stopped working properly?" The Devil offered uncertainly.

"Oho! Really? Then Diehauser Belial must have betrayed us. Go kill him." The Lucifer said with a shooing motion.

"But My Satan, how? Our forces are on the verge of collapse already."

"Oh quit your whining," Rizevim said sending the hapless Devil a gimlet eye even as he continued to smile jovially. "Just release those Mass Produced Scale Mails. They should do the trick to turn the tide. Each one is a Longinus after all."

"As you command, My Satan!"

"What a waste of space." Rizevim complained after the Devil had left to carry out his order. "I mean, it's not that hard to think of using our trump card now that things are getting tough. Why did he have to bother me when I'm almost done."

Before him the first of the links of the glowing chain snapped.

* * *

Back in Devi's study, she and her companions watched as across the island of Agreas, the allied forces were just getting the upper hand when suddenly winged warriors in red dragonoid armor studded with green jewels began appearing all over the battlefield and began turning the tide.

"Those are Boosted Gear's Scale Mail!" Devi said in shock.

Lulu however reacted quickly and opened a magic communication channel to all allied forces. "All forces retreat and regroup at your last secure position. The enemy is deploying mass produced Longinus-class artificial Sacred Gears, which are to be considered a major threat to _everyone_. In light of this, I repeat, retreat and regroup."

_Thank the Void that Lulu kept a clear head._ Devi thought with relief even as the other commanders reiterated Lulu's orders.

Not all of the allied forces heeded their commands though.

"Ignore those orders men. We can take these imitations. Charge in the name of Lord Zaru Oz!" The voice of a foolish Devil commander blared through the communication channels moments before he and his entire company of men were brutally torn apart by the mass produced Boosted Gears.

Despite the gruesome scene being played out for all to see on the screens, everyone to Devi's pride kept their cool.

Lulu merely waited for the allied forces to regain some semblance of order before she proceeded to give a new set of orders.

* * *

"My Satan!"

"What is it now~?" Rizevim asked the same hapless Devil from earlier with a deceptively pleasant voice, even as he smiled a truly terrifying smile.

Terrified by the look on his leader's face, the Devil was too scared to speak. Fortunately for him, he recovered before the Super Devil lost patience.

"The Scaled Mails are being beaten back!"

Rizevim blinked in shock at this. _How could my trump card be so easily dealt with?_

"Explain." Rizevim demanded, the usual facade of good humor he wore shattered by his shock.

"Belial joined the enemy and is helping them-"

"Not enough." The Lucifer said shaking his head with a pitying expression, raising his right pointer finger towards the Devil even as wisps of energy gathered at his tip.

"Wait! My Satan, wait!"

"Alright~! One more chance." Rizevim said with a smile. "But only one."

"Tactics. The enemy are using strange tactics to destroy the Mails."

The Super Devil cocked his head to the side curiously, inviting his subordinate to elaborate.

"They're either isolating them and then concentrating their fire to take them down or using feigned retreats to lure them into fights with gods. Things like that."

"This is that bitch Amon's work." Rizevim concluded. "That or that brat calling himself Asmodeus. Probably the bitch though, since he's here on the frontlines."

The lesser Devil wisely kept silent as his superior began to rant.

"Should have known to program those automatons with a better grasp of tactics and strategy. Falling for things as simple as that, pathetic!"

Rizevim knew that ranting like this was not something he'd normally do. But he couldn't help himself, he was at the hour, no, the very cusp of his final triumph and suddenly the tables were being turned on him? He could not stand it, could not stop himself from bemoaning the fact.

He was so caught up in his uncharacteristic rant that he completely failed to notice that what he'd sought to accomplish for so long had been completed. For the last of the glowing chain, the symbol of the seal that kept Trihexa bound shattered behind him.

The Devil who had brought the news of what was happening saw, but was too terrified of his leader in that moment to even risk opening his mouth to say anything.

It was because of this that neither Devils moved to safety as the box abruptly exploded and a gargantuan blast of bright white and kaleidoscopic light and energy flooded the chamber, destroying everything in its path.

* * *

The explosion of energy however did not stop with the floating island's central chamber, for it quickly spread out from the heart of the island carving a massive hole the shape of a perfect sphere in the floating landmass, roughly five square miles in diameter.

Without the central crystal at its heart which had along with Rizevim and a sizable chunk of both armies been destroyed by the blast, the floating island of Agreas began to sink, the lesser crystals unable to keep it afloat. Faced with this unexpected cataclysmic development, both armies scrabbled to abandon the island even as they continued fighting.

Despite the ongoing chaos though, everyone took note that at the source of the explosion now stood two beings, two Primals for who else could they be. The sheer presence the two were radiating smothered all the lesser beings in their vicinity.

One was a being of pure light whose exact appearance shifted from viewer to viewer and moment to moment. It was a being that everyone instantly recognized, it was the long thought dead Biblical God, a sword of pure light in his right hand and a shield in his left he looked ready for war.

His opponent was a large beast with seven necks and ten horns and well over several hundred meters long. Its features were however in a constant chaotic flux as they shifted between characteristics that seemed to come from every different animal in the world such as lions, leopards, bears, even dragons and everything in between. This was undeniably Trihexa, the Apocalyptic Beast.

* * *

In Devi's study back in the palace of Mammon, the screens that the gathered Devils had been using to observe the battle were suddenly filled with static.

"Report! What just happened? Report!" Lulu demanded over the communications channels only to be greeted with a incoherent reply.

Devi didn't need either the screens or news from the front to know what had happened. She could feel the presences of the two sealed Primals explode into full power at the back of her mind. They had failed.

"Rizevim has unsealed the Primals." Devi announced to the shock of everyone there. "I can feel it."

Ravel adopted a look of deep worry, one shared by everyone in the room, as she turned to Devi. "Then-"

Devi cut Ravel's worried words off, "It is time to do my part, I'll go fight the Primals."

If possible, the room's occupants grew even more worried, but to their credit no one objected. They may have been worried sick but they weren't about to stand between Devi and her duty. The Primal loved them for that.

"Lulu, keep trying to reestablish contact with our allied forces. Once you do, get them to retreat. It will not be safe for anyone to be in the immediate vicinity of a battle between Primals."

"As you command, Devi." Lulu acknowledged before she refocused on her task.

Devi shot all her gathered loved ones one last longing look before calling on her magic and teleporting away.

* * *

While Devi was taking her time to join the battle, her fellow Primals were already in the heat of it. As soon as the slight disorientation of being released from their seal faded, which only took a few seconds, the Biblical God and Trihexa had attacked each other.

The bestial Primal had breathed out a massive stream of multicolored fire at the god from its many heads, in answer the god flew around it and closed with his enemy. Not so easily outdone though Trihexa swept the stream of fire across the sky to strike at his fellow Primal. Despite his greater maneuverability, the Biblical God could not fully evade the attack and was forced to use his shield to weather the flames as he closed the final stretch of distance between him and the monster.

Once he was close enough, the god immediately stabbed the monster with his sword and promptly flew back in a hasty retreat all the while shielding himself from the beast's unrelenting flame attack. The god was about two hundred metres away from the beast when his sword abruptly exploded in a blinding flash of light.

The blast from the attack was so powerful that it tore a hole in reality, like the portals the allies had originally used to deploy their armies, but which was very clearly far less stable. The image of the vista on the other end of the tear was unclear and streaks of energy arced from its ragged edges. A far cry from the clear view and smooth edges of the portals.

Not that any of this mattered much to Hyoudou Issei as he raced through the falling wreckage of Agreas with his parents in his arms.

_Damn that crazy Rizevim for kidnapping them in the first place!_ The Red Dragon Emperor cursed, even as he flew out of the remains of the floating island and into the open air, joining a growing crowd of awestruck gawkers hovering in mid air and watching the sight of two Primals pummeling each other.

Issei thought his parents had said something but he could not hear them over the infuriated roar of the Apocalyptic Beast. A roar so loud and so filled with power, it sent dozens of people falling from the sky and shook the very foundations of the Underworld. Issei himself flinched even as he snapped his wings over his parents to shield them as best he could against the Primal's power.

The roar was followed by the beast, who was missing a good chunk of its upper back, unleashing a storm of beams that raced across the battlefield.

Issei and everyone in the air began desperate evasive maneuvers to avoid the beams, even as the monster's opponent fired its own immense single beam that should have lanced into the monster's side. However, it seemed the monster had learned its lesson and just as the beam would have hit it manifested a aura of raw power that shielded it from the attack. All the while it continued its deadly beam storm.

Dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands, failed to successfully evade the Primal's barrage and died.

_Why is it even doing this!? This attack isn't even aimed at its enemy!_ Issei screamed angrily into the silence of his own mind as he flew through one of the portals and to relative safety.

Quickly, he landed at an impromptu military base - or at least that's what he guessed it was based on what little he knew about such things - and handed his parents over to the personnel there. They very obviously wanted to talk to him about what was going on, but seemed to hold themselves back and left without a word.

The Red Dragon Emperor looked at them longingly for a moment, before he turned back to the battlefield and took flight. Rias and everyone else was still out there, he had to go rescue them.

He had just flown through the portal when he saw a host of Angels led by Michael charge the Beast, flying through the gauntlet of the _still_ raining beams to pepper its side with various projections of light.

"Michael, no!" The being of light fighting the monster shouted, even as it fired its own storm of beams though his all focused on its enemy. "Flee! The Mad Primal is not a foe you and your siblings can face!"

As if to punctuate these words Trihexa suddenly summoned a massive magic circle along its flank facing the Angels and from it unleashed a massive energy blast that decimated them.

"My children!" The Biblical God cried out in fury as it gave up ranged combat and charged the other Primal with a newly conjured sword.

* * *

Devi emerged onto the battlefield in her true draconic form, albeit much smaller than the last two times she had assumed the form and only roughly equal in size to Trihexa. The airspace in the battlefield was crowded enough already and did not need her immense bulk making it worse.

The first thing she saw was the Biblical God - her power helpfully informed her that he was Primal Creation, Custodian of the Universe - try to cleave Trihexa - the Primal Chaos, the Mad Primal - into two with a massively oversized sword of light only to be blocked by Chaos' protective aura. Before she could move to aid the god, Trihexa hit him with a huge energy blast that sent him flying.

Not waiting another moment, Devi herself attacked. From seven heads she breathed out beams of pure void energy that cut right through Chaos' aura and deeply into its flesh, causing it to stop the continuous beam assault that it was sustaining. Seemingly buoyed by her success, the allied armies still on the field - _There's still so many of them! Why haven't they retreated yet?_ \- added their own firepower to the assault, though their attacks were all smothered by the other Primal's aura.

The creature reeled from the attack and roared in furious pain, a roar that shook the Underworld and created hairline fissures in reality to appear throughout the area. Devi didn't let up on her attack and it continued to destroy whole chunks of Trihexa's body, but it seemed to not deter it much as it turned to face her and unleash a massive beam of its own. Devi quickly cut off her attack and summoning void energy instead focused on defense, curling up into a ball and enshrouding herself in her own protective aura.

Chaos' attack was incredibly powerful and Devi found that she could do nothing but focus all her energy on defense.

_I don't know how long I can hold on! My powers aren't designed for defense!_ Void energy sought to consume everything around it and did so very aggressively. While it could be shaped into a defense whereby it consumed incoming attacks, holding it into a fixed shape or pattern for use as such was difficult as it always fought to break free to consume its surroundings. This aspect of its nature meant it was primarily tailored towards offensive use.

Devi was just pondering on some kind of desperate action when she sensed Creation release a massive attack. Chaos' unrelenting attack suddenly dissipated and Devi uncoiled herself to find that he had somehow caught the Mad Primal's attention.

"Devora! Little sister! We need to work together!" The Biblical God, her ancient foe, pleaded.

"That's the plan!" Devi replied as she launched a barrage of void missiles at their enemy that cut right through Chaos' protective aura.

"You focus on offense. Your void attacks will ignore his defenses," Creation offered as he stepped in the way of Chaos' retaliatory attack and shielded Devi. "I'll protect you from his counterattacks."

"Sounds doable." Void agreed while she fired a single massive beam of void energy at the Mad Primal.

* * *

Even as the two Primals planned how they would fight their insane fellow, the remnants of the allied armies were limping away from the battlefield. One that with each exchange between the Primals and the inherent release of immeasurable power as they tried to defeat their maddened bother, grew ever more unstable as more and more cracks and outright tears in reality came into being.

"Let go of me Shemhazai," Michael weakly demanded as he pushed against the Fallen. "Father has returned and needs my help."

"Don't be an idiot! He specifically said to flee." The Grigori's leader shot back as he carefully helped the badly wounded Archangel through the air and towards the portal to Heaven. "Besides, you barely survived that suicidal rush earlier when you tried to do that."

"But Father-"

"Has a lot better help from Devora than we could ever offer." The Archangel Gabriel said as she flew over and helped Shemhazai with their brother.

Just then Devora suddenly curled into a ball like she'd done earlier but instead of channeling power to defend herself she began gathering it. The Mad Primal was not blind to this and shot a barrage of multicolored fireballs her way, only for them to be intercepted by their Father as he cut them from the sky with his sword and charged the monster, distracting it from its attack. He flew circles around the larger, less maneuverable Primal slashing at it with his sword, undeterred by how his strikes more often than not were simply deflected by Trihexa's aura.

Trihexa was so focused on him that it failed to notice until it was too late as Devora uncurled and unleashed a truly immense beam of energy that consumed the Chaotic Primal, their Father only just barely flying away in time.

"I see your point, my siblings." Michael grudgingly admitted, even as Trihexa unleashed another furious roar that signaled it was far from defeated. A roar that tore whole new ruptures in reality.

* * *

Through one of these ruptures, was a desolate wasteland of one of the uninhabited planes linked to Earth, upon which sat a massive war machine. It set on a massive tracked base and had a largely spherical main body that stood several stories tall, was covered with multiple layers of interlocking armor plates, had a large variety of weapons located throughout its structure, and was capped off by a single authentic looking recreation of a human eye at its peak. This was the Technodrome, the new mobile primary physical body for the Primal Life, D.O.M.E.

As the Primal observed the epic struggle being fought between his three fellow Primals through the rupture, it pondered its response.

_Let's join in!_ No. 7 opined. _If we're smart about it, this can be our best chance to take out all three of them._

_Unlikely. Probability calculations indicate Primal Chaos will be the likely winner through sheer attrition. Its regeneration and offensive output is proving too much for Creation and Void._ No. 1 observed.

_If Chaos is so tough, then maybe we should help the others kill it first._ No. 4 suggested.

_I agree with No. 4._ No. 2 said as she joined the conversation. _It is called the Mad Primal for Life's sake!_

D.O.M.E.'s various sub-minds continued debating for a long moment, until at last their greater self made its decision.

_We attack!_

From numerous hangers hidden both within the Technodrome and scattered throughout the wasteland where it was located, a swarm of thousands of combat drones took to the air. There were the familiar Commander and Heavy Infantry drones but also hundreds of the simpler Infantry variants which merely looked like less heavily armored and stylized version of their Heavy Infantry counterparts. Besides these though, the Primal also fielded a handful of entirely new variants of its drones: a dozen or so High Speed Interceptor drones shaped like beaks and with a pair of mechanical arms that zoomed through the air; as well as four massive Siege Warfare drones with oblong bodies that were supported by two legs and stood 60 meters in height.

With its vanguard deployed, D.O.M.E. sent it through the rupture.

* * *

Devi and the God of the Bible were busy avoiding a barrage of powerful beams from Trihexa when they sensed the approaching presence of another Primal. Distracted, Devi failed to move entirely out of the way of one of the beams and had her wings on her right side largely disintegrated as they were caught in the Mad Primal's destructive attack.

The pain was intense, more so than any pain that the Primal had ever endured and she let out a pained filled roar. Her godly ally quickly interposing himself between herself and Chaos and blocking their mad brother's follow-up attack.

Devi was immensely thankful in that moment for the huge amounts of void energy that coursed through her true form as it greedily consumed her pain, effectively numbing it, even as it healed her injuries. Oh, and she was grateful, just a little bit, to her old enemy for gallantly protecting her too.

Her musings were cut short though when a swarm of familiar combat drones with a few new additions suddenly flew her way firing a rain of beam attacks.

_Just great! Now D.O.M.E. apparently wants to join the party. As if this fight wasn't hard enough already!_ Devi bemoaned as she breathed rays of void energy over the drones' ranks. She destroyed dozens of them, but the agile little things quickly scattered and began pelting her with fire from all angles.

Idly she noted, that elements of the allied army, of which there were still far too many in the area, rushing to try to help by engaging the drones. That helped but D.O.M.E. seemed to have an endless supply of his avatars and was sending them in seemingly endless stream through the rupture that must lead to his new base of operations.

"What are these things?" The Biblical God asked as he began swatting the harassing drones from the sky. Though he seemed to be having a great deal of trouble with the fast moving beak like drones who were just maneuverable enough to keep one step ahead of him.

"They're the mechanical avatars of the Primal Life." Devi explained even as she was forced to summon her aura to shield her from a high powered beam shot her way from one of the large new drones.

_Well, if there's any good side to this it's that D.O.M.E. seems determined to annoy Trihexa too._ Devi mused as the Primal Life's drones, a noticeably larger swarm than that harassing herself and Creation, attacked the Mad Primal and distracted him from themselves.

_Too bad, we can't capitalize on that with these things in our way. These things are such pests._ Devi complained as she let her aura explode from around her destroying over a hundred of the machines at once.

Trihexa had been hard pressed by the sheer volume of fire directed at it and the substantial firepower of the two large drones sent his way. But seemingly taking inspiration from Devi's move promptly copied it and unleashed its own chaotic aura. Waves of chaotic power played across the area, destroying hundreds of D.O.M.E.'s drones and sending the rest burning their thrusters hard to get away.

The wave also had a devastating effect on the remainders of the allied army still on the field as it killed hundreds upon contact and sent the survivors such as the Heavenly Dragons and their respective teams reeling. Thankfully, D.O.M.E.'s drones were in too much disarray themselves to capitalize.

* * *

Trihexa's aura explosion had like so many of the powerful attacks in the fight between the Primals so far served to tear new openings in local space. One such opening led to the Hyoudou Residence, where the Primal Time, Ophis had been watching the whole fight from the comfort of the living room and a conjured screen. The opening had in fact opened up right in front of the Primal.

"How coincidental." The Primal said sarcastically. "Really, Destiny, do you need to be so heavy handed?"

No reply came her way, and the dragon god just gave a frustrated sigh. "Not even going to reply?"

Again she was met by silence.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play then I won't go help."

"Ophis, please." Destiny said as his projection materialized in front of her. "They need you."

Primal Time just snorted. "If Void and Creation can't deal with him, what do you think I can do?"

"You can help them." Destiny offered pleadingly.

Ophis looked through the rupture and saw something that made her blood boil. Great Red had just flown out of another tear in space, presumably one that led to the Dimensional Gap, and joined the fight by bathing Trihexa in flames while Void and Creation were still preoccupied with Life's machines.

"If _he's_ there, then I'm in." The Ouroboros Dragon declared as she walked past her fellow Primal and through the portal.

Smiling in satisfaction, Destiny's projection faded away.

* * *

D.O.M.E. was starting to get worried, he had deployed almost 60% of his drones already and had yet to land even one decisive blow on any of the other Primals. With losses mounting and his reserves depleting, things were looking less and less favorable for him. Especially since Mind had joined the battle, apparently on the side of Void and Creation, attacking Chaos and allowing the two to focus on destroying his drones. He was contemplating retreating when suddenly hundreds of his drones died from a single attack. Focusing on its source, he was shocked to find that yet another Primal,Time, had joined the battle as well.

"Hey you! Life!" The Primal in the guise of a little girl rudely called out to him.

"What is it?" D.O.M.E. replied even as he angled a trio of Infantry drones to attack her, only to have her destroy two of them outright with energy blasts while crippling the third so badly it was mission killed, though its speakers remained intact.

"Stop attacking Void and Creation, you idiot and focus on Chaos." Time demanded. Clearly she was on their side just like Mind was.

"Why should I do that?" D.O.M.E. asked as its sub-minds increasingly urged retreat.

Time looked at him like he was a particularly slow child, a look which even he noted was very odd coming from a little girl, and replied, "Because, you imbecile, Chaos is insane. He'll destroy everything. So unless you want to live in an empty universe, I'd advise killing him first."

She then mumbled something that even with his drone's advanced sensors he barely caught, "And if you don't stop soon, Great Red will win and he'll lord it over me forever. Can't let that happen."

_That's the real reason she wants me to help? So she wouldn't be upstaged by her rival?_ D.O.M.E. thought incredulously, his sub-minds echoing his sentiment.

_Perhaps._ No. 11's cultured voice interjected. _But her earlier reasoning is sound. Chaos is the very likely to do exactly as she says. Its goal is something that we definitely would not like._

Murmurs of agreement came from several other sub-minds.

_But who's to say that it'll win? It's fighting three, and soon four, Primals already._ No. 7 cut in skeptically.

_And is winning. Even with Mind and Time. Probability estimates favor a Chaos victory if we do not at least cease harassment of other combatants._ No. 1 informed.

The sub-minds broke out into debate once more but were quickly silenced as D.O.M.E. made its decision.

"Very well, Time. But only for this fight."

The Watcher of Infinity just gave the drone a knowing smile, even as it threw it aside and flew to join the main battle.

True to his word, D.O.M.E. redirected his drones from their battles with the other Primals and focused them on Chaos, whilst informing them that, "Time has convinced me to assist you against Chaos. Do not make me regret it."

"Thank you. I assure you that we won't." Void replied even as she once more curled into a ball and gathered her energies. Creation following her lead by conjuring a concentrated sphere of energy that hovered in front of his vaguely humanoid form. Meanwhile, Mind was busy fighting Chaos at close range with breaths of flame and physical attacks while Time and Life's drones peppered their enemy with energy blasts.

When Creation and Void were ready, the dragon had one of her heads nod at one of D.O.M.E.'s nearby drones. Recognizing the signal for what it was, he had his swarm scatter away from Chaos with Mind and Time quickly following suit. They were just in time, as the moment that they were away the two more distant Primals unleashed their attacks and a pair of immensely powerful beams, one pitch black and the other blinding white, consumed Chaos.

* * *

That attack was so terrifyingly powerful even in comparison to all the attacks the Primals had been throwing at each other so far, that it tipped the already teetering stability of reality over the edge. In its wake, reality not just at the battlefield but across Earth and its many planes and even far beyond into the infinite depths of space began to unravel.

Fortunately, for the universe there was one Primal who was not too busy fighting a life or death struggle to contain the collateral damage from said struggle.

For a brief instant in time, much to the confusion of beings everywhere the entirety of the universe glowed blue as Destiny exerted his power to stabilize the damage. Most everywhere the glow quickly faded, but at the site of the battle between his fellows it did not, as he focused his power to contain the power being tossed around in the confrontation.

"Brothers, Sisters, deal with Chaos. I'll keep the universe together." Destiny told his fellow Primals as he manifested a projection next to each of them.

Mind, Life and Void ignored him, instead choosing to rain blasts on the still form of Chaos. Time just snorted derisively, as she joined their peers' bombardment. Only Creation seemed to appreciate his assistance as he offered his thanks while conjuring a massive javelin of light.

_Well, at least one of my brothers appreciates my work. That's something I guess._

* * *

Devi breathed void blasts from her maws at the oddly still form of Trihexa that had crashed onto the ground alongside the shattered remains of Agreas, ignoring Destiny. She knew she probably should have thanked him like the Biblical God had, but she honestly was more upset with him not helping until now to do so.

Well that and because she was too confused by Trihexa's odd behavior to pay him any mind. The Mad Primal was far from beaten by that last attack. It had hurt it tremendously. She could sense that, but she could also sense that it still had vast reservoirs of power left. Why then was it effectively playing dead and letting them all rain attacks on it without responding.

It was this confusion that led her to choose to attack with void blasts rather than the more effective void rays or a charged beam attack, both those attacks and similar ones required a great deal of focus which would dull her reaction time if, no when, Chaos made its next move.

The thought had just crossed her mind, when Creation sent a truly immense javelin of light hurtling towards their insane brother. Devi sensed that if the javelin had struck, it would finally end this long battle. The God of the Bible must have pumped in a great majority of his remaining strength into it.

Unfortunately, just as the spear was about to hit its mark, Chaos sprung to life. Its body shifting into that reminiscent of an eel or snake, it agilely slithered away from the attack and shot through the air like lightning. It was moving so fast that most of them couldn't react in time as it suddenly closed in on Ophis, its whole body enshrouded in its deadly aura. Devi turned to do _something_ to aid her sister, but was beaten to the punch by Great Red who magically swapped locations with Ophis.

The Dragon of Dragons turned and unleashed a torrent of flame at Chaos but the other Primal was undaunted and slammed into him, tearing an immense hole right through his torso as it flew _through_ him. The True Red Dragon God Emperor's body immediately began to disintegrate.

Gasps of horror resounded all around them from the precious few stubborn individuals in the allied armies that remained in the area, and from the many more who watched from the tears in space as they saw a being regarded as one of the most powerful in the universe die.

The Primals too were shaken at seeing one of their own die and would likely have been easy pickings for Chaos in their distracted states, if not for the brave actions of the Red Dragon Emperor. While everyone was overcome by shock at Great Red's death, Chaos had changed course and surged towards Ophis with barely anyone noticing. D.O.M.E. did and moved his drones to intercept but his attacks did nothing to slow the fast moving Mad Primal down or waylay him in any way. Instead it was Hyoudou Issei who saved the Primal Time by interposing himself between the two Primals and taking the attack.

By all rights, the attack should have disintegrated the boy entirely. That was the difference in power between the boy and the Primal, but as the impact struck the boy was suddenly enshrouded in a deep red aura and the black jewel on the crown of the helm of his Scale Mail - the [Resurrection Scale] - glowed with an intense darkness.

_That power! That's Great Red's._

Using the power of the deceased Primal, Hyoudou through a massive exertion, somehow managed to push the Mad Primal away from Ophis. The moment he did though he began falling to the earth below.

_He's dead, even with a body crafted from Great Red's flesh, that much power killed him._

But contrary to Devi's expectations, the aura around the boy suddenly pulsed and the darkness around the [Resurrection Scale] intensified for a moment, and the boy's flight leveled off.

_He resurrected? From that? That should be beyond the Scale's limits._ Devi boggled, before she quickly realized what was going on. _That aura! Great Red's power is supercharging not just the boy but the Scale as well. Brilliant._

While Devi was busy dissecting how the Hyoudou boy had managed his feat, Chaos had circled around and once more was headed towards Ophis.

"Devora! Stop daydreaming!" The Biblical God shouted from beside her as he launched a salvo of weak - by Primal standards - light spears at the Mad Primal as it zoomed across the sky avoiding the fire from him, Ophis and D.O.M.E. "We need your firepower!"

"Right!" Devi said, comforted that her draconic form couldn't blush because otherwise she'd be flushed in embarrassment at being so distracted in a fight.

_I'm still a little unfamiliar by this form. That's gotta be it._ Devi reassured herself as she fired void rays at the Mad Primal, who just narrowly avoided them while streaking through the air. He veered towards Ophis at every opportunity and despite their best attempts he was getting ever closer.

_She should be fine though. The Hyoudou boy looks ready and willing to repeat his earlier stunt to keep her safe._

* * *

Ophis continued launching energy attack after energy attack at Chaos but like everyone else, her attacks simply hit empty air. In his current state, the Mad Primal was too fast for any of them to even hit. Well, D.O.M.E.'s drones were hitting it by sure weight of fire from all directions, but the power of the few shots of his that were connecting weren't helpful at all.

_Not like Chaos' hits. One hit and we die. Just like Great Red._ Ophis lamented. _Damn it! Why did he have to die? He's_ my _nemesis. If anyone should be the one to kill him it should be me!_

As Chaos inched closer, held off from a direct run towards her by Devora strafing the path towards her with her void rays, Devi saw Issei fly protectively in front of her.

_He's gonna repeat what he did earlier isn't he? My friend is gonna die protecting me. How many times can he do that before Great Red's power boost runs out? Ten? Twenty? Can I let him die so many times for me? What kind of lousy Primal am I to let him do that? Even once?_

Ophis turned to look at the fast moving Mad Primal, little more than a bolt of kaleidoscopic lightning now, and bemoaned the fact that she'd given away so much of her power. She like the other Primals might have infinite power at their disposal but they can only channel a finite amount at a given time and that amount could take a long time to replenish if exhausted. Usually this was not an issue as that finite amount was so large as to be as close to infinite as a finite number could be. Unfortunately, due to her own recklessness, her nigh infinite reserves were almost empty. _If I hadn't split my power or let it be stolen, I could stop him. Easily._

Taking a determined breath, she muttered, "I still can."

"Ophis?" Issei, her friend, said questioningly.

Ophis just shot him a smile before calling on the remainder of her power and transforming into a streak of black and white lightning and slamming into Trihexa.

* * *

The moment Ophis' lightning form slammed into Trihexa's, the Mad Primal suddenly slowed to a crawl. Watching from the safety of Asgard where he'd brought an injured Kuroka, Vali Lucifer was probably one of only a few beings outside the Primals themselves who understood what had happened, what Ophis had done.

As the dragon god struck the Apocalypse Beast, she has used the remnants of her much reduced power and her authority over time as its Primal to distort time around her brother, drastically slowing its rate of movement. He knew this because at the moment of contact between the two Primals, Ophis had told him as such.

_Using all my power up like that, it's tantamount to suicide for us Primals._ Ophis had confessed in his telepathic message.

"Vali?" Bikou asked from his side, sounding concerned. "You okay?"

Vali could guess what had prompted his friend to ask him that. Alongside telling him what she intended to do, Ophis had also sent along a plea of pure emotion for him to help defeat Chaos. Her emotion, mainly anger and regret but so much more as well, were so intense that it overwhelmed him, making him do something he had not done in years. Unbidden, tears streamed down his face.

"I'm going to kill that monster!" Vali said as he summoned his Scale Mail and took to the air. "The rest of you, stay here."

"What!? Vali, that's madness. You won't stand a chance out there." As if to substantiate the point, in the background, the Red Dragon Emperor was knocked out of the sky as he shielded the Biblical God from a massive blast sent his way by Chaos. The Mad Primal seemingly adapting to its new reduced speed by switching back to relying on its aura defensively and making use of its regeneration to weather his opponent's attacks while engaging them with powerful attacks of his own.

"Don't worry, Bikou." Vali said as he dried his uncharacteristic tears. "Hyoudou isn't the only one with a power-up."

With that Vali called up the last component of Ophis, his dead friend's, parting gift. Abruptly he was encased in an aura of black outlined with red, in Ophis' power.

Bikou was stunned by this, and Vali didn't wait for him to recover. Instead he shot into the air at his top speed, which with the power boost was now much, much faster than before, through the still open portal and into the battle between Primals.

_I promised never to use this. But I guessed if I want to avenge Ophis, I have no choice. Albion!_

_Right, partner!_

"[Subtle Executioner]" Vali's [Divine Dividing] announced as the module he'd received from the Primal Void activated. It transformed into a pure white spear, with wing-like designs around the point which itself was a single black jewel that pulsed with dark energy.

Channeling all his power, his own and that which he gained form Ophis' power-up, into the spear he dived towards the bestial Primal. The monster seemed to sense his presence, one of its heads glanced in his direction, but turned away quickly, dismissing him.

_You'll pay for that._ Vali thought victoriously as he thrust the spear as deeply into the Primal's side as he could, letting its vicious poison flood into its being.

Where the Primal had ignored him before, it certainly did not now and lashed out at him with a tentacle that boiled into being from the churning mass of flesh that was Trihexa's body sending him and [Subtle Executioner] which he still grasped tightly in his hands flying.

Too drained by pouring all his power into the spear, Vali couldn't even right himself. Much less defend himself or evade as the Mad Primal followed up by sending a massive fireball his way.

_Avenging a friend. Well, it's as good a way to die as any._

Vali's last sight as darkness claimed him was a figure in red blocking his view.

* * *

As the Hyoudou boy saved his fellow Heavenly Dragon, by sacrificing his life and relying on the power of her [Resurrection Scale] to revive him, Devi mused on how fortuitous it was that she'd created it and the [Subtle Executioner]. Without them this fight would have gone very differently, very badly.

"Trihexa's been poisoned by my [Void Anathema]! It's regeneration should be weakened! This is our chance!"

"You're right. My sensors confirm that it's regeneration has significantly slowed." D.O.M.E. concurred.

"Devora, charge your most powerful attack. Life, help me shield her while she builds up the energy she needs." The Biblical God ordered.

D.O.M.E. didn't seem to mind but Devi chafed at taking orders from the god, but it was a sound plan. Her void attacks bypassed Chaos' protections and was the most powerful of the three of them, making her the ideal choice of attacker. As such she complied, spreading her wings as far as she could even as she bent her necks so that her heads all faced a single growing mote of power within which she began collecting her energy.

Her actions did not go unnoticed by Trihexa however and it fired a truly immense beam her way. The God of the Bible moved into the way, his shield raised and D.O.M.E. had its drones form a wall around him as he channeled a large part of his power through them and returned fire, trying its best to negate or at least weaken the incoming beam. Their efforts were undermined however when the Mad Primal suddenly grew a massive pair of wings from its back and beat the air harshly infusing it with its power and conjuring a immense gust of wind that sent the god and the majority of D.O.M.E.'s drones soaring away. Devi herself was buffeted by the winds but by the time they'd hit her, they'd lost most of their power and she managed to stayed in place.

Not that it helped, without the other two Primals to protect her, there was no way for her to withstand Trihexa's attack. She couldn't evade, not in time at least.

_Shit!_

Devi prepared herself for the end. There was more than enough power in Trihexa's attack to kill her, depleted as she was by channeling all her power into her attack. In that moment, she cursed fate for her impending death. For taking her away from all her loved ones. From all the members of her Court that had been her family for two hundred years and more. For leaving behind her Peerage who she had only just began to get to know but who she loved dearly. For undoubtedly sending her best friends, Attie and Lulu, into deep grief at her lost. But most importantly for not being able to enjoy the happiness and love she'd come to enjoy with her lovers ever again. _Ravel, Alice, Lain, Val, Bonnie… Everyone. I'm sorry._

But the impact never came, instead at the last minute the newly revived Red Dragon Emperor, no Hyoudou Issei, interposed himself between her and the beam. Using every ounce of his power, borrowed and his own, he held the beam back.

"Devi-sama. NOW!"

Devi didn't need to be told twice and unleashed her attack. It was a small thing at first, the single mote of her power she'd been charging flew from in front of her faces at high speed and slammed into Trihexa. For a moment, nothing happened, and everyone despaired. Still holding back Trihexa's oncoming beam, Hyoudou Issei gritted his teeth in frustration. D.O.M.E. and the Biblical God both swore. But Devi just smiled a terrible smile on her draconic heads before intoning, "[Consumption]"

The instant the word left her mouths, the point where Trihexa had been struck began to collapse in on itself. It started off slowly at first but rapidly picked up speed as everything around the point began to be sucked into a hole in the universe. Air, debris, even the body of the Mad Primal, nothing could escape the gaping maw of the Great Devourer. Not that the Primal Chaos did not try. It clawed desperately at the ground, bit into the earth with its maws, even growing new limbs from its body to do so. It lashed out with its aura trying to tear a purchase on the world with its power, in the process creating all new tears in reality in its flailing. But it was ultimately futile. It was too weakened from its prolonged fight with the other Primals to defy the pull of the void.

At long last, Trihexa, Primal Chaos, the Mad Primal was consumed by the emptiness beyond creation. The long battle was finally won.

* * *

**AN:**

**Phew! That was seriously hard to write. 20+, almost 30 pages of almost non-stop action? That was hard. Fun, but hard. Hope you all liked it and that it was good.**

**I was originally gonna tack on the battle's aftermath in this chapter, but eventually decided against. Instead that'll form the first part of the epilogue. It just seemed more fitting that way.**

**On another note, yes I borrowed Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from the Riordanverse for a cameo here. They're my favorite representations of Greek heroes at the moment, so I thought appropriate to use them as my POV characters for the Greeks in this climatic battle.**

**And before I go, here's a list of the inspirations for D.O.M.E.'s drones:**

**His new physical body: Technodrome from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)**

**Infantry type: MS-06 Zaku II from the Gundam franchise**

**High Speed Interceptor type: MA-05 Bigro from Gundam again**

**Siege Warfare type: MA-08 Big Zam from Gundam as well**

**If you haven't already guessed, I'm a big Gundam fan.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this fic.**

**Please review. No flames please, they'll be ignored.**


	13. Epilogue: New Halcyon Days

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School DxD.**

**The Trails of Avarice**

**Betas: None so far, you're welcome to apply**

* * *

**Epilogue: New Halcyon Days**

The moment that Trihexa was fully drawn into Devi's attack and defeated, the crimson aura that had been empowering Issei Hyoudou shot away from his body and coalesced into Great Red. Deprived of the power that had been keeping him alive during a battle between beings many orders of magnitude greater than himself, the boy collapsed. Fortunately, his patron was nice enough to catch him along his back before he fell to his death.

"So this is what you meant when you said the boy was your preparations for this War?" Devi asked the newly revived Primal with arched eyebrows and crossed forearms, which considering she was still in her true form was quite the sight.

"Pretty much." The Primal Mind admittedly unrepentantly, as the remaining Primals congregated including a similarly revived Ophis who flew up trailing an unconscious Vali Lucifer in a energy bubble behind her.

"You are revived as well, Ophis, how?" The God of the Bible asked shocked.

Ophis ignored the god and just glanced at the passed out Issei before glaring at Great Red. On his part, the Dragons of Dragons just shrugged.

"She used the opportunity of being disembodied to recollect all the scattered bits of her power. That body she's using now is one such example, it was a spawn of hers created by Qlippoth they called Lilith." Destiny explained in her stead as one of his projections materialized in their midst.

"So you made use of the hybrid boy there? Just like Great Red did with the Devil? How unbecoming." The god said with a disappointed shake of his head.

"I disagree." D.O.M.E. cut in, his drones eyeing his fellows cautiously as if waiting for them to attack him or perhaps looking for an opening where he could do the same. "I think they made a strategically very wise decision to use the Heavenly Dragons as insurance."

"Perhaps so," the god conceded. "Nevertheless I cannot help but find it dishonorable. It seemed to me that they were merely making use of the mortals to make up for their own lack of skill as fighters."

Both Great Red and Ophis glared at Primal Creation for that, even whilst Great Red gingerly transferred Issei into Ophis' energy bubble with the Lucifer boy.

"Hey! I'm not a bad fighter!" Great Red protested, "If anyone here is bad at fighting, it's Ophis, not me!"

"What did you say!?" Ophis demanded.

"What? You know it's the truth." Great Red said with a shrug.

"No, it isn't." The Ouroboros Dragon said stomping her feet and imitating quite well a little girl throwing a tantrum.

"Now now, brother, sister, there's no need to fight." The Biblical God said placatingly his hands raised as he moved between his feuding siblings.

"You, stay out of this!" Great Red and Ophis both shouted at the same time before they degenerated into a petty argument while the god futilely did his best to calm both of them down while D.O.M.E. watched on.

Devi meanwhile stayed in her true form, wary of the potential of a second battle with a Primal even as she floated over to Destiny's projection. Before she could say anything though, Destiny preempted her.

"There is no need to fear, Sister. The Primal War is over, can't you sense it?"

Devi could. There was a sense of knowing that she could not pin down the source of that just told her that the Primals wouldn't be fighting anymore. Despite that, Devi wasn't willing to take the risk.

"So you are still paranoid," Destiny said with a sigh.

"With the stakes involved can you blame me?" Devi retorted.

"I suppose not." Destiny agreed, though from his slumped shoulders and other mannerisms under the concealing cloak of his projection he seemed saddened by this. "Though have no fear, even D.O.M.E. is not willing to continue the war, though that has more to do with his depleted drone army than anything, and with Chaos defeated, all of us agreed that the War shall end."

Devi considered this for a moment, before she let her inner pessimist rear its head, "That easily?"

"Would you rather we fought another bout that tore reality apart at its seams as collateral damage?" Destiny asked pointedly.

Devi hastily shook all her seven heads.

"You have more questions?" He asked after a moment.

"Why didn't you help us to fight Chaos?" Devi asked pointedly.

"Would you have preferred I let all your loved ones die, instead?" Destiny countered.

Devi was horrified by his response and flinched. Her seven heads snapping back and her wings extending to their full length as she drew back from him as if struck. Great Red, Ophis and God didn't notice, the former two too caught up in their squabble and the latter with playing peacemaker. D.O.M.E. with his many eyes and ears did and tensed.

"What do you mean!?" Devi hissed.

"Intervening the way I did saved our universe from untold damage. Damage that would have included the destruction of your Land of Greed and all of your loved ones who resided there." The very idea sent a shiver of terror down Devi's spine. "While it was true that if I had joined the fight against Trihexa, we would likely have won more easily. It would have been at a terrible price."

"Thank you, Destiny." Devi offered sincerely.

"Think nothing of it, Sister. Besides, I doubt we'd have survived a second mad Primal."

Devi nodded all seven of her seven heads in acknowledgement of her brother's insinuation. If the Land of Greed and more importantly all her loved ones there had died, the grief would have driven her mad and she would have let the void that was her soul free to do what it always wanted. To consume without end, until all was nothing.

"Do not fret about what-ifs, Sister." Destiny advised with a comforting smile, as his projection faded away.

In the background, Devi noticed that the God of the Bible had finally succeeded in breaking up the argument between Great Red and Ophis, the latter of whom was now flying away looking visibly upset, with the unconscious Heavenly Dragons still in tow. She also noticed that with the remaining Primals clearly not about to fight and in fact seemed to be peacefully chatting and dispersing, the allied armies were tentatively sending out teams into the battlefield.

One such team, DxD, caught up with Ophis in short order and escorted her and the boys through a portal, to the Underworld she noted, and presumably to treatment. Another, a large contingent of Angels led by the Archangel Gabriel flew towards the Biblical God.

D.O.M.E and Great Red meanwhile had gotten into a conversation about the fight against Trihexa, with Life applauding the dragon's skill at close combat while Mind commented that he thought the AI's drone swarm was cool. The pleasant conversation, which quickly devolved into a self-congratulatory exchange of compliments, seemed to put D.O.M.E. at ease, as his drones dropped their weapons from their firing positions and fell into more causal rest poses.

_Good. All is well. I can go._ Devi reasoned as she finally transformed back into her more comfortable Devil form and prepared to teleport away, relieved that there would likely be no more fighting. She knew she should probably stay, at least until Great Red and D.O.M.E. left, but she was anxious to return to her loved ones. Especially after what she'd learned from Destiny.

She was just about to summon a magic circle and teleport away when Creation suddenly spoke up and caused her to pause.

"Devora, Great Red, Life. Come help me fix these holes in reality." He demanded apparently finished talking with his Angels who were now hovering around him protectively.

Devi ignored the god and just teleported away. Her loved ones were more important to her right now. Besides he was a Primal, he could handle it. A sentiment that both Great Red and D.O.M.E. seemed to share if the glimpse she caught of them flying away through the rupture to the Dimensional Gap while chatting as the magic took hold of her was any indication.

* * *

A week later, Destiny sat back in his bed in his hidden cavern as he watched a quartet of screens in front of him showing what his fellow Primals were currently doing.

On one screen, he watched as Ophis, the Gremory Peerage, the Vali Team, and a host of the Primal Time's friends were all enjoying themselves in a celebratory picnic in one of the parks of Kuoh Town.

Despite her usual cold and almost emotionless attitude, Destiny noted that his sister was clearly enjoying herself. She still seemed a little detached but the way her eyes seemed to light up with joy every once in awhile was a dead giveaway to her brother. He also idly noted that she seemed to exhibit that joy most often and almost openly when in the presence of the young kyuubi that called her Phis.

"I'm glad to see you with friends at last, Sister." Destiny said to the emptiness of his cave even as he stroked a nondescript box in his lap.

Smiling at his reclusive Sister finally seemingly opening up to others, Destiny turned his attention to another screen. This screen showed a portion of the Dimensional Gap, specifically a large patch of floating rock that Destiny knew Great Red had dragged into the space.

On this island of rock in the turbulent plane, was the newly relocated primary physical body of D.O.M.E. and Great Red as they overlooked the former's worker drones, simple ball-like things with attached mechanical arms, constructing a new draconic drone roughly the same size as the Dragon of Dragons. The two Primals were happily chatting all the while about how once the drone was complete, D.O.M.E. could enjoy the feeling of flying through the emptiness of the Gap just like Great Red.

Destiny's smile just grew wider at the scene. Greatly pleased by the fact that Great Red finally had company in the Gap, one that unlike Ophis was not determined to see him dead or evicted from his home. He was also comforted that D.O.M.E.'s fears of other Primals seeking to kill him were assuaged by his camaraderie with the Apocalypse Dragon. If anyone of them might have restarted the Primal War, it had been D.O.M.E. as he lashed out in fear. That those fears were fading, was a great relief to the Primal Spirit.

As the ancient human turned to the third screen he couldn't help but burst out into a light laugh at the scene from Heaven that it displayed. For there was his brother, the God of the Bible, seated behind a desk piled high with paperwork in an office similarly filled with towers of documents stacked almost to the ceiling. Considering that the ceiling was two stories high and the room was as large as basketball court, that was a truly huge amount of paperwork. Paperwork that the newly unsealed god was going through even as he complained the whole way, even going so far as to say he wished he had never been unsealed. Which in turn led to his Angelic assistants bursting into histrionics as they took him seriously.

The scene was so utterly amusing that Destiny couldn't stop laughing for ages and oddly enough even the box in his lap seemed to join in the good humor as it wobbled from side to side in his lap as if laughing as well. When he finally calmed himself down, Destiny turned to the box.

"You liked that didn't you, Brother?" Destiny said as he patted it lightly.

The box glowed with kaleidoscopic light for a brief moment before an array of magic circles in bright blue appeared around it and released a bright blue light. As the light faded, the box's glow had faded.

"Now now, Brother, you know you can't come out. Not yet. Not for a long time. I'm sorry about that. I really am, but it needs to be done." Destiny said apologetically. "In the meantime though, I promise to take good care of you."

There was no response from the box, but Destiny didn't expect any. The seals on his brother were strong and he was greatly weakened, just testing them like he had earlier must have drained him. He likely wouldn't be responding anytime soon.

So instead of waiting for a reply, Destiny turned to the last screen which projected Devi in a particularly elaborate dress walking towards one of her ballrooms alone.

* * *

_I wonder why they asked me to go ahead._ Devi mused as she took the short walk from her quarters to the the private ballroom where she was holding the celebration to commemorate the defeat of Chaos Brigade/Qlippoth and the end of the Primal War. Well, that was how Devi had billed it to outsiders but in reality it was just going to be a simple gathering of her loved ones.

_It's definitely because they plan to surprise me with something but what? After all, do they seriously think I'd believe them when they say they need more time to get ready? Especially when I'm already done and wearing arguably the most elaborate and difficult to put on dress I have? At their request I might add._

The Satan's observation about her dress was no exaggeration. She was wearing an elaborate ball gown that would not have looked out of place in the finest royal courts of Victorian Europe. It was made of a beautiful fabric that was black as midnight and was embroidered with orange, gold and silver embroidery with the odd small, lightweight gem sewn in. But perhaps what made it most troublesome was that the dress with its slim waistline and abundance of heavy petticoats required that Devi wear both a corset and a crinoline.

Adding in the time the servants had taken to do her make-up, select the appropriate jewelry and cloak to go with the dress, it had been no less than two hours for the Primal to get ready. Plenty of time, in her opinion at least, for her lovers to have finished their own preparations.

Setting aside her thoughts on the matter even as she smiled a little in amusement at her lovers' antics, she entered into the ballroom. As a private affair, there was no herald to announce her presence, so no one immediately noticed her slipping in from a hidden side entrance. As such she took the opportunity to admire the room.

One of several ballrooms cum indoor training halls that dotted her palace, this one in particular stood out for being the smallest. Being only the size of half a soccer pitch, it was a far cry from the much larger ballrooms the size of whole city blocks elsewhere in the palace. Whereas those massive halls were designed for large formal gatherings that would include the entirety of the Devil aristocracy, this much smaller hall was built to only accommodate the immediate Mammon family and a small number of guests for more intimate, private engagements. It was however just as opulent as everything the Clan Mammon owned, with columns adorned with intricate carvings and sheathed in precious metals, a whole kaleidoscope of them, each pillar covered by a different metal; the floor made out of a checkerboard of equally rare stone; and a vaulted ceiling upon which was a beautiful set of murals depicting the Clan Mammon's history.

Despite the room's relatively small size, Devi was a little disheartened to note that even with all her loved ones from her Court and Peerage present - of course minus her consorts - the room was still woefully empty. Devi remembered a time in her childhood where the room was full with her large family, both immediate and extended, and their many friends.

_Don't think about that. This is a time for celebration._ Devi reminded herself, as the crowd finally noticed her and began to stand to salute her, she waved them away. There would be no need for such formalities today. _Besides, now that the War is over, perhaps it's time to grow the family._

That thought had her thanking the fact that magic was such a wondrous thing. As it would easily allow her to conceive a child with her lovers if they so desired, despite them all being women. It was after all hardly a new problem, and over the ages lesbian magic users of all kinds had come up with a wide variety of ways to solve the issue. And if her lovers were not game on the idea of getting pregnant she would happily oblige or they could turn to adoption. Devi honestly had no particular preference on how they would achieve it, but she was dead set on wanting children of her own.

The very idea of children brought a beaming smile to her face as she walked up to a table where she found Lulu, Tywin and Tyrion talking politics.

"It's precisely because the wars are over, Tywin, that we should be thinking about how to integrate better with the rest of the Underworld and the broader alliance. We no longer have an excuse not to." Lulu was arguing heatedly, her arms crossed as she glared at the Viné lord.

"And what if that means giving up our autonomy? The one thing we treasure so much that we rebelled against the Old Satans to gain?" Tywin countered passionately, slamming his clenched fist on the table harshly.

"That won't happen if we play it right, Father. After all with Agreas destroyed, don't we have the largest supply of those crystals that they use to make Evil Pieces and Brave Saint cards? We can leverage that." Tyrion offered placatingly, as he pulled a flute of champagne away from his agitated father to prevent any spills if he acted on his feelings again.

"We do." Devi said as she entered the conversation, "And we will leverage that to get the best deal possible as we integrate, Tywin. Do not worry."

Tywin looked mollified somewhat by his Satan's reassurance, but was clearly still upset as he grabbed his glass from his son and gulped down his drink while leaning back in his seat. No surprise there, Tywin was always passionate about the things he believed in and hated when he lost arguments.

"Though I have to ask why you three are even talking about politics right now? Shouldn't you be celebrating instead?" Devi asked with an arched brow.

The Vinés looked a little sheepish at this subtle rebuke, with Tyrion shifting nervously in his seat and Tywin averting his eyes to avoid her reprimanding gaze.

Lulu though was unfazed and instead shot her a playful smile, "But this is our idea of fun."

Devi just shot the Vinés a look to get their take on the matter, only to see both men nodding. Though they stopped abruptly when they noticed their sovereign watching them.

Said sovereign just gave an exasperated sigh and threw her hands into the air in exasperation at their response. "Well, carry on then."

"Thanks, Devi." Lulu replied with a smirk and a wave as Devi walked off, eager to get away from her politics mad friends.

The Satan passed by Hansel and the Marchosias as they clustered together discussing how to manage security in the new peace. Knowing she'd get much the same response from them as she'd just had from Lulu if she tried to rebuke them on talking about business matters at what was supposed to be a time of revelry, Devi just nodded to them in greeting and walked by, shaking her head in amused pique at how her friends were all such workaholics.

Heading to the refreshment tables to help herself to something to eat - a necessity since the servants had been dismissed for the celebration and as such everything was self-service - Devi found Tohru eyeing the food with a gleam in her eye. A gleam that Devi recognized very well.

"No, Tohru, you may not add anything to the food and drinks." Devi informed the ghostly mad scientist.

"But Devi-sama~! There are so many ways I can spice things up." Tohru whined, going so far as to clutch her hands together and adopt a pleading expression.

With her hands on her hips and a hard look, Devi authoritatively denied her R&D head's request. "No means no, Tohru."

The specter just pouted and slinked off in silence to sulk.

Devi just shook her head at the other woman's antics. Tohru could be such a child sometimes.

As she filled a plate with some light snacks though she noticed Binh walk over to Tohru, at which point the ghost's bad mood abruptly vanished and was replaced by a pleased one as she happily engaged the former jiangshi in conversation.

The Primal blinked in surprise at the scene, Tohru was known for her abrupt changes in mood at times. But that Binh's mere presence could trigger such a change was something unexpected.

_They have spent a great deal of time together since Binh joined us. Hmm… Is something going on between them? Attie would know._

With that idea in mind, Devi searched the hall for her childhood friend and spotted her chatting with a red-faced Xiaoyu. _What's that about?_

Walking over, her plate of food in hand, she overheard Attie tell her Knight that, "I think you'd be quite pretty when you let your hair down. You should try it."

"Re-Really?" The Sacred Gear user said sputtering slightly.

_Is Attie flirting with Xiaoyu!? I thought the two of them were always arguing._

"Ahem!" Devi cleared her throat loudly as she joined the other two women, catching their attention.

"Ah, Devi-" Attie began only to cut herself off at her liege's stern glare.

"Attie are you flirting with Xiaoyu?"

Xiaoyu blushed crimson as this and began to wave her hands dismissively, sputtering denials. Devi however paid her no mind and continued to look at her childhood friend sternly.

"Yes." Attie replied, returning Devi's look confidently. Xiaoyu froze in shock at this and looked at Attie disbelievingly, seemingly only now realizing that the pure-blooded Devil was not just playing with her.

Satisfied that Attie was truly serious, Devi warned her sternly, "Take care. I'm watching."

"I won't hurt her." Attie promised.

Devi just nodded and walked away, her question about Binh and Tohru set aside for another day. _Best to let Attie have time to deal with her love interest first._

Something which she seemed to be doing well as she calmly and sincerely explained to a flustered Xiaoyu that she was completely genuine in her attraction towards her.

_Good luck._ Devi offered in the privacy of her mind, even though she wasn't sure who she offering it to. Attie? Xiaoyu? Both of them?

Looking around for someone else to talk to, the Super Devil spotted Jackie and Clyde leaning against a pillar of adamantite drinking from bottles of beer and looking glum. Curious, Devi wandered over.

"What has the two of you looking so miserable at a celebration?" Devi asked as she held out her as yet untouched plate of food to the duo, wordlessly offering the duo something to eat.

"Our sucky love lives, that's what." Clyde explained as she reached over and plucked a deviled egg from the plate and popped it into her mouth.

Jackie shook her head at the offered food, but picked up the explanation where Clyde left off. "You know how Clyde was dating one of the palace guards?"

Devi nodded. How could she not know? When news of the relationship had broke, it quickly became the hottest topic of conversation in the whole city for weeks. A member of the Satan's Peerage, her own household, dating a common soldier? There was fodder there for every gossip in [Spiral Urbis Opes].

"Well, she's on the outs with him." Jackie finished and took a swig of her beer.

Devi looked at her blue-haired Pawn with a sympathetic look on her face, and asked, "You need any help with him?"

"No, it'll be fine." Clyde said after swallowing her food. "Do you mind if I have more of that plate, though? All this moping has worked up an appetite."

"Sure, have it all." Devi said handing the plate over. "But you're sure I shouldn't step in?"

"I'm sure. We'll either work it out or we won't. Either way I want to settle this on my own." Clyde said determinedly as she accepted the plate, before bending down to put down her bottle of beer and digging into the various Hors d'oeuvres.

Turning from the preoccupied Clyde, Devi quirked her brow at Jackie questioningly. "So I get why Clyde thinks her love life is as you said 'sucky' right now. But what about you, Jackie?"

Jackie shifted uneasily and shoved her unoccupied hand behind her back and clutched her beer bottle tightly, before nervously replying, "Well it's silly. But I'm kinda bummed that everyone seems to be hooking up," At this she used her beer bottle to gesture first to Attie and a still blushing Xiaoyu and then Binh who was listening to Tohru rant about something or the other with a soft smile on her face.

"And I can't find myself a man." She finished with a sad sigh.

Devi honestly didn't know how to reply to something like that, so instead chose to redirect the conversation slightly.

"Well, I don't know about a man." The Satan said with a teasing smile, "I mean what good is a man? A woman is so much better."

"Don't diss it till you try it, Devi." Clyde paused in her meal to comment. "In my educated experience both men and women are equally good as lovers."

Blushing furiously, Jackie spun to face her friend.

"L-lovers!? Who said anything about that?" The Heroic Descendant hissed, mortally embarrassed.

Clyde just shrugged unrepentantly and replied, "Well ideally that's where all relationships should go, right?"

Jackie blushed even more furiously at that, which caused her fellow Pawn to burst into giggles.

Surprised by Jackie's reactions, Devi couldn't help but ask, "Jackie, are you a virgin?"

Covering her face with her hands to hide her by now practically glowing face, the girl nodded.

"Which is why I say you should try both sides of the aisle, Jackie. You haven't tried anything yet so you don't really know which is best." Clyde said as she stood back up from putting down the plate after swapping it for her bottle of beer.

"Not everyone is that flexible, Clyde." Devi chided the bisexual as she rubbed comforting circles on Jackie's back to calm her down.

Clyde just shrugged and gulped down a mouthful of her beer.

Any further conversation was cut short though when the main doors to the ballroom opened and everyone turned to see who it was.

It was Devi's harem, of course, and the the sight of them took Devi's breathe away.

They were all dressed in Merveilleuse style dresses, like those of 1800s France and modeled after the dresses of ancient Greeks and Romans. They were made of light, almost transparent linen and gauze with deep cleavages. They were just barely modest and left little to the imagination, a fact added to by her lovers' very obviously choosing to abstain from the use of any undergarments as was apparent through the thin material.

Swallowing hard, Devi walked over to them in a daze, completely unable to take her eyes off her beloved consorts.

"Like what you see?" Ravel teased as twirled around her wife happily, giving her more of a show of what lay underneath her barely there dress.

Devi just nodded, too mesmerized by the display to speak.

"I'm glad you like it." Val said as she crossed her arms under her breasts and pushed them up, making them stand out even more. "I read about this style of dress and I thought you might like it if we wore it for you."

Blushing prettily, Bonnie threw herself into Devi's side, pressing herself into her body. Something that the analytical part of Devi's mind idly noted served to quite effectively hide most of her body from prying eyes. It seemed Bonnie was feeling a little shy. "We thought since today is supposed to be a celebration, we'd surprise you with this."

_So how are you going to reward us for such a nice surprise._ The twins, arm in arm, asked with a lecherous undertone to their mental voice.

"Apologies everyone. It looks like I have some important business that has just come up and I need to go handle." Devi announced, without so much as turning to face everyone else in the ballroom.

The ballroom erupted into catcalls, wolf whistles, and general good natured teasing, but Devi didn't care. All her attention remained on her spouses as she escorted them back to her chambers for a more _private_ celebration.

As they walked the halls and Devi admired the beautiful forms of her lovers, she couldn't help but feel that all the hardships up till this moment of happiness had been worth it.

**End.**

* * *

**AN:**

**And that's a wrap!**

**With that another of my plot bunnies has been killed. And I actually wrote a decent length, in my opinion, fic. Overall, TOA is probably not particularly good. It's likely middling in terms of quality i.e. a B grade at best. The characters were flat, plus there were way too many of them, and the the story lacked a strong enough central conflict. That said, I had fun writing it and that's most important I think. That and taking away lessons for improving any future writing projects I might have.**

**Despite that though I hope you readers at least got a pleasant time reading this fic, as a guilty pleasure if nothing else.**

**Thank you for reading.**


End file.
